HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Members: Allowances

Eric Pickles: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission whether the Commission plans to publish claims made under the additional costs allowance for 2004-05 by those who are no longer hon. Members; and if the Commission will make it its policy to publish additional costs allowance claims for the period 2004-05 made by former hon. Members who are now prospective parliamentary candidates.

Nick Harvey: This is a matter for the Members Estimate Committee; I am replying on behalf of the Committee. The Committee decided not to publish, as a matter of course, claims made under the additional costs allowance for 2004-05 by those hon. Members who left the House of Commons in May 2005. This was a pragmatic decision based on the difficulty of getting information to be published to the former Members for checking. The Committee has no plans to make it its policy to publish additional costs allowance claims for the period 2004-05 made by former hon. Members who are now prospective parliamentary candidates standing for re-election to the House. However, the House has responded to and will continue to respond to requests made under the FOI legislation for information about individual former hon. Members' claims.

WOMEN AND EQUALITY

Banks: Equal Opportunities

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what recent progress has been made on increasing the level of access of women to senior positions in the banking profession.

Maria Eagle: The Government are committed to increasing the representation of women in senior positions. The Government Equalities Office (GEO) sponsors the annual Female FTSE Report, which benchmarks women's progress on the boards of FTSE 100 companies. The 2009 report found that women make up 12.2 per cent. of directors across FTSE 100 companies, but only 9.3 per cent. of directors across the five banks in the FTSE 100.
	The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is conducting a formal inquiry into the nature and causes of gender inequality and discrimination in the financial services sector. The EHRC is currently in the third stage of their inquiry, and is currently taking forward a series of round tables with the finance sector. In addition, the Treasury Select Committee will shortly report on their inquiry on women in the City. We will carefully consider the result of both inquiries.
	In giving evidence to the Treasury Select Committee, the Minister for Women and Equality set out our intention to create a strong partnership with business organisations, trade bodies and recruitment firms to encourage companies to commit to their own internal targets and actions to increase diversity in senior positions. GEO will be holding an event in the spring with business to agree a practical plan of action.

Departmental Buildings

John Baron: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality how much the Government's Equalities Office spent on works and refurbishment to offices allocated to Ministers in the Office in the last 12 months.

Michael Jabez Foster: The Government Equalities Office has not spent any money on refurbishing its ministerial offices over the past 12 months.

Departmental Plants

Grant Shapps: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality how much the Government and Equalities Office spent on  (a) cut flowers and  (b) pot plants in 2008-09.

Michael Jabez Foster: The Government Equalities Office did not spend any money on cut flowers or pot plants in 2008-09.

Equality Bill

Bob Neill: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what representations she has received from Roman Catholic bishops on the potential effects of the provisions of the Equality Bill on Christmas celebrations.

Michael Jabez Foster: We have not received any representations from Catholic Bishops on the potential effects of the Equality Bill on Christmas celebrations.
	There is nothing in the Equality Bill which will ban Christmas celebrations, or indeed, any other religious festivities. The Bill contains an Equality Duty that will require public bodies to think about different groups when planning and delivering services. However it will not require public bodies to interfere with anybody's religious celebrations.

OLYMPICS

Departmental Energy

Grant Shapps: To ask the Minister for the Olympics what the energy  (a) rating and  (b) band of each building occupied by the her Office was in each year for which figures are available.

Tessa Jowell: Information concerning the energy rating of my offices will be covered in the answers provided by the Minister of State for the Cabinet Office and the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at DCMS, respectively.

Departmental Written Questions

Mark Harper: To ask the Minister for the Olympics how many and what percentage of Parliamentary Questions tabled for written answer by her Department on a named day in session 2008-09 received a substantive answer on that day.

Tessa Jowell: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Minister for Creative Industries on 14 December 2009,  Official Report, column 670W.

Olympic Games 2012: Anniversaries

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Minister for the Olympics whether she plans to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee as part of the ceremonies the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Tessa Jowell: Planning for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee is at an early stage. We have had some preliminary discussions with The Palace to consider whether there may be opportunities to link the celebrations to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee with the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The Business Secretary intends to make a statement to Parliament today on the Government's initial plans for the Diamond Jubilee Celebrations.

Olympic Games 2012: Construction

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Minister for the Olympics how many people were employed on the main Olympic construction site on the latest date for which figures are available.

Tessa Jowell: The latest information, released at the end of October in the Olympic Delivery Authority's (ODA) Jobs, Skills, Futures newsletter, showed that at the end of September 2009 there were 7,270 people working on the Olympic Park and Village. Of this, there were 4,842 people working on the Park, 21 per cent. were resident in one of the five Olympic Host Boroughs, and 12 per cent. were previously unemployed. The ODA reported in November that there were 120 apprentices working for the contractors on the Olympic Park, over a third of the way towards its target of 350 apprentices by 2012.

SCOTLAND

Departmental Conferences

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many  (a) away days and  (b) conferences that took place outside his Department's building attended by civil servants in his Department there have been since 2005; and what the cost was of each.

Ann McKechin: The Scotland Office held one staff away day in 2005-06, one in 2006-07 and one in 2008-09. The event costs were £2,457 in 2006-07 and £2,660 in 2008-09.
	Information on the costs prior to 2006-07 are not separately identifiable.
	No ministerial away days have been held during the period in question.

Departmental Information and Communications Technology

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland on what pay band his Department's Chief Information Officer (CIO) is employed; whether the CIO is employed on a fixed-term or permanent contract; and what the size is of the budget for which the CIO is responsible in the period 2009-10.

Ann McKechin: The Scotland Office does not have a Chief Information Officer position in its organisational structure.

Offenders

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many employees of his Department have been convicted of a criminal offence of each type in each year since 1997.

Ann McKechin: The Scotland Office was established on 1 July 1999. Since this date all staff have joined the Office on secondment from their parent bodies, mainly the Scottish Executive or the Ministry of Justice. They are required to report any convictions of criminal offences to their parent bodies.

ELECTORAL COMMISSION COMMITTEE

Elections

Eric Pickles: To ask the hon. Member for South-West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission what guidance the Electoral Commission has issued on when electoral returning officers should commence general election counts.

Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that it has written to all Returning Officers, advising that it is entirely appropriate for them, as independent statutory officers, to decide to hold the count on Friday if they are clear that this is necessary to ensure an accurate result. Returning Officers have also been advised to consider any relevant local factors, such as geography, availability of staff and venues, the security of the ballot boxes and the volume and management of postal votes as part of the decision-making process. The next general election will, for example, be the first general election at which new security checks on postal votes will need to be conducted, and this will introduce an additional stage in the process.

Elections

Eric Pickles: To ask the hon. Member for South-West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission what guidance the Electoral Commission has given to electoral returning officers on political party representatives or counting agents taking tallies of validated votes during an election count.

Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that its September 2009 planning guidance for Returning Officers and the recently published full guidance manual for UK Parliamentary (Acting) Returning Officers advise that no part of the count should take place out of the sight of candidates and agents and that procedures should be transparent at all times.
	The Commission recognises the important role carried out by candidates and agents in scrutinising the verification and counting processes. Candidates and agents may keep a tally of valid votes at the count.

Elections

Eric Pickles: To ask the hon. Member for South-West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission what discussions the Electoral Commission has had with Ofcom on its proposals for the number of party political broadcasts allocated to minority parties.

Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that Ofcom consulted the Commission in June 2009 on changes it was considering to its Rules on Party Political and Referendum Broadcasts. The Commission set out its views in a letter to Ofcom on 17 July 2009, including that there should be more detailed guidelines for determining the number of broadcasts to be offered to qualifying parties. The Commission wrote again to Ofcom on 20 November 2009 during the formal consultation on the proposed new Rules, welcoming proposed changes.
	Copies of these letters have been placed in the Library of the House and are available on the Commission's website at:
	www.electoralcommission.org.uk

Elections

Eric Pickles: To ask the hon. Member for South-West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission what information the Electoral Commission holds on the number of postal ballot papers handed in on polling day in each of the last five by-elections.

Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that returning officers are not required to keep records of the number of postal ballot packs handed in at polling stations on polling day. However, the returning officers for the last five UK parliamentary by-elections have provided the following estimates of the number of postal ballot packs handed in at polling stations on polling day:
	
		
			  Constituency  Date  Number of postal ballot packs 
			 Glasgow, North-East 12 November 2009 270 
			 Norwich, North 23 July 2009 180 
			 Glenrothes 6 November 2008 125 
			 Glasgow, East 24 July 2008 116 
			 Haltemprice and Howden 10 July 2008 180

Elections

John Pugh: To ask the hon. Member for South-West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission how many electoral commissioners have been an electoral  (a) candidate or agent and  (b) returning officer.

Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that none of the current Electoral Commissioners have been an electoral candidate or agent, and one commissioner has been a returning officer.
	Electoral Commissioners are appointed under the Political Parties, Referendums and Elections Act 2000 (part 1 section 3), as amended by the Political Parties and Elections (PPE) Act 2009. Before the passage of the PPE Act, the law disqualified people who had been actively involved in political parties in the previous 10 years from office as a Commissioner. The law now provides for four new Commissioners to be appointed following nomination by political parties, and without that disqualification. For the remaining Commissioners, the time ban period has been reduced from 10 to five years.

Electoral Commission

Eric Pickles: To ask the hon. Member for South-West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission with reference to the answer of 21 October 2009,  Official Report, column 1439W, on elections: investigations, how long the Electoral Commission's investigation into 5th Avenue Partners took; and what steps the Electoral Commission is taking to improve the efficiency of its investigations.

Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that its investigation into 5th Avenue Partners took approximately two years and 10 months-excluding a 20-month period from March 2007 to November 2008, when it suspended its inquiries at the request of City of London police.
	The Commission further informs me that since this investigation was opened, it has established strict time targets for key phases of its enforcement work. In 2009, the Commission met its targets of conducting 90 per cent. of initial case assessments within five working days, and 90 per cent. of case reviews within 90 days. The Commission also aims to complete 90 per cent. of its investigations within six months and following questions from the Speaker's Committee, has set a target from 2010-11 of completing all its investigations within one year. The Commission has instituted enhanced case planning and supervision to ensure that these targets are met.

European Parliament

Eric Pickles: To ask the hon. Member for South-West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission to what region the Electoral Commission plans to allocate the UK's additional European Parliament seat following the ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon.

Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that it has not yet recommended which of the 12 UK electoral regions should receive the additional European Parliament seat, and can only do so following receipt of a statutory direction from the Secretary of State for Justice.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Departmental Art Works

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much his Department spent on art works in the last 12 months.

Paul Goggins: The Northern Ireland Office (NIO), including its arm's length bodies and the Public Prosecution Service Northern Ireland but excluding its agencies and NDPBs, has had no expenditure on art works in the last 12 months.

Departmental Billing

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many and what proportion of invoices submitted to his Department have been paid within 10 days in each month since October 2008; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Goggins: The following table shows what proportion of invoices submitted to the Northern Ireland Office, including its arms length bodies and the Public Prosecution Service Northern Ireland but excluding its agencies and NDPBs, have been paid within 10 days from October 2008 to November 2009.
	
		
			  Month  Total number of invoices subject to prompt payment  Total number of invoices achieving prompt payment  Percentage processed within 10 working days 
			 October 2008 4,170 2,002 48 
			 November 2008 4,328 2,554 59 
			 December 2008 2,692 2,221 83 
			 January 2009 3,122 2,466 79 
			 February 2009 3,231 2,669 83 
			 March 2009 3,611 2,968 82 
			 April 2009 3,632 3,026 83 
			 May 2009 3,357 3,074 92 
			 June 2009 3,577 3,305 92 
			 July 2009 3,268 2,911 89 
			 August 2009 2,434 2,309 95 
			 September 2009 2,920 2,797 96 
			 October 2009 3,158 2,981 94 
			 November 2009 2,658 2,555 96

Departmental Conferences

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many  (a) away days and  (b) conferences that took place outside his Department's building attended by civil servants in his Department there have been since 2005; and what the cost was of each.

Paul Goggins: The following table provides a summary of the number of development days that took place in venues not connected with Northern Ireland Office (NIO) buildings from 1 April 2008. It is not possible (taking disproportionate costs threshold into account) to provide a breakdown of the number and cost of development days held in external venues prior to April 2008. The NIO's policy is however to ensure that development days have a clear business objective and are cost-effective. The Department places an emphasis on team development through volunteering, to meet our corporate social responsibility commitments.
	
		
			  Division  Subject  Venue/location  Cost (£) 
			 Criminal Law Development Event La Mon Hotel, Belfast 245.00 
			 Personnel Services Division Development Event Maynard Sinclair Sports Pavillion, Belfast 249.10 
			 Financial Services Division Development Event Lorne House, Belfast 451.01 
			 Business Improvement Team Development Event Lorne House, Belfast 240.00 
			 Rights Elections and Legacy Development Event Centrepoint, London 93.75 
			 Central Services Directorate Business Planning Event Stormont Hotel 2,446.50 
			 Financial Services Division Development Event Lorne House, Belfast 474.88 
			 Personnel Services Division Development Event Lorne House, Belfast 558.85 
			 Northern Ireland Office PA Development Event Stormont Hotel 3,569.79 
			 Fast Stream Cadre Development Event Lorne House, Belfast 446.30 
			 Criminal Justice Directorate Development Event Lorne House, Belfast 1,116.72 
			 Personnel Services Division Development Event/Volunteer Challenge Riverside Special School, Antrim 0 
			 Central Services Directorate Development Event/Volunteer Challenge National Trust, Belfast 0 
			 Forensic Services Branch Development Event/Volunteer Challenge Lagan Valley Regional Park 0 
			 Criminal Justice Finance Branch Development Event/Volunteer Challenge MS Society 0 
			 Civil Service Commissioners' Office Development Event/Volunteer Challenge Marie Curie Cancer Care Centre 0 
		
	
	It is not possible to provide a breakdown of conferences held in external venues attended by NIO staff in the past five years. The Department does not capture information at this level through financial coding, so to provide this would incur a disproportionate cost.

Departmental Conferences

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much was spent by his Department and its agencies on conferences they organised which were subsequently cancelled in each of the last three years; and what the title was of each such conference.

Paul Goggins: The Northern Ireland Office has not spent any funds on conferences which were subsequently cancelled in any of the last three years.

Departmental Pay

Lee Scott: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much has been paid in bonuses to civil servants in his Department in each year since 2006.

Shaun Woodward: Non-consolidated performance payments are made to staff in the senior civil service in line with Cabinet Office guidance and also to staff at grades D2 to A in line with HM Treasury guidance. These payments are made to reward performance throughout the previous reporting year. Under a separate scheme, non-consolidated special performance payments are awarded to staff to reward particularly meritorious contributions throughout the year.
	The total amount of non-consolidated performance payments made to Northern Ireland Office staff since 2006 is as follows:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2006-07 731,882.00 
			 2007-08 (1)837,224.48 
			 2008-09 859,913.50 
			 (1) This figure does not include non-consolidated performance payments made by the Northern Ireland Prison Service to staff below senior civil service.

Departmental Training

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many overseas training courses were attended by his Department's civil servants in the latest period for which figures are available; how many civil servants attended each course; and what the total cost to the public purse was of each course.

Shaun Woodward: The following table provides a summary of the training courses attended by Northern Ireland Office (NIO) staff from 1 March 2008 to date. The NIO policy is to ensure that training courses attended by staff support delivery of business objectives and are cost effective.
	
		
			  Course  Duration (days)  Number of staff  Cost( 1)  (£) 
			 Community Builders Programme, New York 28 2 24,000.00 
			 Leaders for Tomorrow, Harvard 21 2 17,108.18 
			 Leadership in a Changing World, Harvard 6 1 5,691.75 
			 (1) Costs include course fees, travel and accommodation/subsistence costs. 
		
	
	The Community Builders Programme was initiated as a confidence building measure out of the Good Friday Agreement. The aim was to bring key community activists and local opinion formers together with PSNI and Criminal Justice personnel in an environment which promoted partnership working and networking. Two staff attended the four week programme in March 2008.
	The three week Leaders for Tomorrow programme at Harvard is designed to provide high calibre leadership development for public and private sector staff from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The programme is arranged through NICS Centre for Applied Learning. Each year, 48 people from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland attend the three week programme, with the NIO providing two participants in January 2009.
	The one week Leadership in a Changing World programme is designed for senior leaders from the public and private sector. The programme was arranged through NICS Centre for Applied Learning. One member of the NIO Senior Civil Service attended the programme in November 2008.

Departmental Training

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies have spent on away days in the last 12 months; and what the (i) subject and (ii) location of each away day was.

Shaun Woodward: Table A provides a summary of the development days for divisions and teams organised by the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) in the last 12 months (from 1 December 2008). The Northern Ireland Office policy is to ensure that development days have a clear business benefit and are cost-effective. The Department places an emphasis on team development through volunteering, to meet corporate social responsibility commitments.
	
		
			  Table A 
			  Division  Subject  Venue/location  Cost (£) 
			 Central Management Unit Business Planning Hillsborough Castle 40.25 
			 Rights Elections and Legacy Development Event Centrepoint, London 93.75 
			 Police Operation Support Division Development Event Hillsborough Castle 464.00 
			 Central Services Directorate Management Event Hillsborough Castle 568.70 
			 Central Services Directorate Business Planning Event Stormont Hotel 2,446.50 
			 Financial Services Division Development Event Lorne House, Belfast 474.88 
			 Personnel Services Division Development Event Lorne House, Belfast 558.85 
			 Northern Ireland Office PA Development Event Stormont Hotel 3,569.79 
			 Senior Civil Service Management Event Hillsborough Castle 878.75 
			 Civil Service Commissioners Development Event Stormont House, Belfast 171.75 
			 Fast Stream Cadre Development Event Lorne House, Belfast 446.30 
			 British Irish Secretariat/Visits Development and Planning Event Hillsborough Castle 221.00 
			 Criminal Justice Directorate Development Event Lorne House, Belfast 1,116.72 
			 Civil Service Commissioners Business Planning Stormont House, Belfast 87.50 
			 Security Protection Division Business Planning Stormont House, Belfast 87.00 
		
	
	Table B provides a summary of the development days for divisions and teams organised within Northern Ireland Office agencies in the last 12 months (from 1 December 2008).
	
		
			  Table B 
			  Division  Subject  Venue/location  Cost (£) 
			 Youth Justice Agency Corporate Services Strategic Planning Lorne House, Belfast 415.00 
			 Compensation Agency Development Event Castle Ward, County Down 3,542.00 
			 HMP Magilligan Roles and Responsibilities Radisson Hotel, Limavady 690.00 
			 HMP Magilligan Business Planning Radisson Hotel, Limavady 952.50 
			 HMP Magilligan Criminal Justice Order Bushtown Hotel, Coleraine 440.00 
			 HM Hydebank Wood Business Planning Hillsborough Castle 500.00 
			 HMP Maghaberry Business Planning Rosspark Hotel, Kells 2,618.90 
			 NIPS: Press and Communications Business Planning Stormont House 28.75 
			 HMP Magilligan Reorganisation of Prison Conference facility at Portstewart Golf Club 550.00 
			 HMP Maghaberry Business Planning Rosspark Hotel, Kells 1,760.00

Hotels

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many hotel room nights were booked by officials in  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies in each year since 2007; and how much (i) his Department and (ii) its agencies spent on the fees of third party agents in booking hotel accommodation in each of those years.

Paul Goggins: Staff in my Department book hotels through a central booking service using our appointed agents. The agent makes no charge for booking hotels which are on a central list of frequently used hotels. Such bookings make up 94 per cent. of all hotel bookings. There is a charge of £5.00 per booking for the remaining 6 per cent. of one off bookings for hotels not on the frequently used list.
	Arrangements vary within the agencies which use either the core Northern Ireland Office contract or the Northern Ireland civil service central contract. The necessary information is held in a number of different formats across a number of locations. It is therefore not possible to answer this part of the question except at disproportionate cost.

Human Rights

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent discussions he has had with the government of the Irish Republic on human rights.

Shaun Woodward: I have had regular meetings with the Irish Foreign Minister during the past few months, at which we have discussed current issues, including the consultation on a Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland which was launched on 30 November.

Prisons

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the capital expenditure on the prison estate in Northern Ireland will be in  (a) 2010 and  (b) 2011.

Paul Goggins: The planned expenditure on the prison estate in Northern Ireland in 2010-11 is £26 million.
	While a similar level of expenditure is currently envisaged as part of the service's estate strategy in 2011-12, the available funding is not yet known.

Prisons

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the total capacity is of prisons in Northern Ireland.

Paul Goggins: 1,775.

Prisons

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the average daily cost was of detaining a person in prison in Northern Ireland in the last period for which figures are available.

Paul Goggins: The Northern Ireland Prison Service does not calculate the cost per prisoner but rather the average cost per prisoner place, which is published in its annual report and accounts.
	In 2008-09, the average daily cost per prisoner place was £223.

Prisons

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the total prison population is in Northern Ireland.

Paul Goggins: At 22 December there were 1,390 prisoners in Northern Ireland. This compares to 1,426 on the same date in 2008.

SOLICITOR-GENERAL

Departmental Billing

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Solicitor-General how many and what proportion of invoices submitted to the Law Officers' Departments have been paid within 10 days in each month since October 2008; and if she will make a statement.

Vera Baird: The Law Officers' Departments are committed to improving their systems in order to meet the Government's target of paying all invoices within 10 days of receipt. At present, approximately 90 per cent. of all invoices submitted to the Law Officers' Departments are handled by the Crown Prosecution Service and of these around 80 per cent. are paid within 10 days.
	Full details on the performance of all the Law Offices' Departments against the Government target since October 2008 are detailed in the following tables.
	
		
			  Crown Prosecution Service 
			  Month  Invoices paid within 10 days  As percentage of all invoices 
			 October 2008 19,806 80 
			 November 2008 17,845 85 
			 December 2008 16,739 80 
			 January 2009 18,453 77 
			 February 2009 17,448 83 
			 March 2009 24,195 80 
			 April 2009 17,676 79 
			 May 2009 16,192 84 
			 June 2009 18,523 83 
			 July 2009 19,665 84 
			 August 2009 16,548 81 
			 September 2009 18,316 80 
			 October 2009 20,067 80 
			 November 2009 17,961 80 
		
	
	
		
			  Treasury Solicitor's Department, Attorney-General's Office and Her Majesty's Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate 
			  Month  Invoices paid within 10 days  As percentage of all invoices 
			 October 2008 354 35 
			 November 2008 459 56 
			 December 2008 268 41 
			 January 2009 397 43 
			 February 2009 558 62 
			 March 2009 628 51 
			 April 2009 484 53 
			 May 2009 380 52 
			 June 2009 440 49 
			 July 2009 415 48 
			 August 2009 530 66 
			 September 2009 293 47 
			 October 2009 481 46 
			 November 2009 370 44 
		
	
	
		
			  Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office 
			  Month  Invoices paid within 10 days  As percentage of all invoices 
			 October 2008 605 46 
			 November 2008 337 42 
			 December 2008 537 45 
			 January 2009 628 45 
			 February 2009 634 52 
			 March 2009 917 59 
			 April 2009 574 59 
			 May 2009 375 48 
			 June 2009 547 59 
			 July 2009 535 50 
			 August 2009 306 46 
			 September 2009 382 48 
			 October 2009 390 48 
			 November 2009 417 51 
		
	
	
		
			  Serious Fraud Office 
			  Month  Invoices paid within 10 days  As percentage of all invoices 
			 October 2008 386 36 
			 November 2008 436 50 
			 December 2008 560 51 
			 January 2009 370 48 
			 February 2009 531 50 
			 March 2009 679 63 
			 April 2009 510 48 
			 May 2009 388 51 
			 June 2009 522 58 
			 July 2009 280 33 
			 August 2009 413 61 
			 September 2009 582 65 
			 October 2009 384 46 
			 November 2009 140 21 
		
	
	 National Fraud Office
	The Serious Fraud Office provides transactional services for the payment of all National Fraud Authority's invoices. The Agency is unable to disclose its payment performance as it uses the Serious Fraud Office's accounting system and NFA-specific payments cannot be differentiated.

Departmental Buildings

John Baron: To ask the Solicitor-General how much the Law Officers' Departments spent on works and refurbishment to offices allocated to Law Officers in the last 12 months.

Vera Baird: In the last 12 months AGO has spent £3,694.00 on works and refurbishment to offices allocated to Law Officers.

Departmental Conferences

John Baron: To ask the Solicitor-General which conferences held overseas have been attended by civil servants based in the Law Officers' Department in the last three years; and what the cost to the public purse was of such attendance at each conference.

Vera Baird: The information requested is contained in the following tables.
	Staff from the Attorney-General's Office have attended the following overseas conferences in the last three years:
	
		
			  Conference  Travel and subsistence cost (£) 
			 OECD conference on anti-bribery 124.68 
			 Annual Conference of the International Association of Prosecutors in 2008-Singapore 2,055 
			 Annual Conference of the International Association of Prosecutors in 2009-Kiev 2,666.14 
		
	
	Treasury Solicitor's (Tsol) staff have attended the following overseas conferences in the last three years:
	
		
			  £ 
			  Conference  Conference cost  Travel and subsistence cost( 1) 
			 Challenges in adoption procedures in Europe ensuring the best interests of the child conference-a joint Council of Europe and European Commission conference in Strasbourg 490 - 
			 Shared Services Conference in Madrid-work in connection with AGO shared services project 0 - 
			 American Bar Association Antitrust Spring Meeting 17 to 20 April 2007 163 - 
			 Maastricht on State Aids on 29 to 30 March 2007 571 175 
			 European State Aid Law Institute-Annual Conference Brussels-May 2008 469 - 
			 European State Aid Law Institute seminar in Luxembourg in December 2008 585 396.16 
			 European Institute of Public Administration-State Aid to the Financial Sector-4 to 5 December 2008 718 - 
			 Irish Society of European Law, Dublin 0 - 
			 Symposium on ECJ, Berlin 2007 0 694.49 
			 Bar European Group Annual Conference, Istanbul, 2008 0 995 
			 Czech EU Presidency Conference on Implementation of EU law, 2008 0 282.76 
			 Bar European Group Annual Conference, Madrid, 2009 0 191.62 
			 The European State Aid Law Annual conference in Brussels, June 2009. 0 - 
			 (1) The costs identified are those incurred by Tsol. It has not been possible to identify travel and subsistence costs in all instances within the disproportionate cost threshold. Additionally Tsol officials have attended conferences as speakers or as advisers to their clients where costs for these have been met by either conference organisers or clients and it is not feasible to identify these costs within the disproportionate costs threshold. 
		
	
	Staff from Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office (RCPO) have attended the following overseas conferences in the last three years:
	
		
			  Conference  Staff numbers  Travel and subsistence cost( 1)( ) (£) 
			 Annual Conference of the International Association of Prosecutors in 2007-Hong Kong 5 30,296 
			 Annual Conference of the International Association of Prosecutors in 2008-Singapore 5 22,883 
			 Heads of Prosecutions Agencies Conference (HOPAC) in Canada in 2007 1 1,308 
			 Eurojustice Conference in Slovenia in 2007 3 893.58 
			 Proliferation Security Initiative-Operational Experts Group in New Zealand, in September 2008 1 704.71 
			 IAP World Summit of Attorney's General, Prosecutors General and Chief Prosecutors in Romania in March 2009 1 143.15 
			 (1) The costs identified are those incurred by Tsol. It has not been possible to identify travel and subsistence costs in all instances within the disproportionate cost threshold. Additionally Tsol officials have attended conferences as speakers or as advisers to their clients where costs for these have been met by either conference organisers or clients and it is not feasible to identify these costs within the disproportionate costs threshold. 
		
	
	Staff from the HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCPSI) have attended the following overseas conferences in the last three years:
	
		
			  Conference  Travel and subsistence cost (£) 
			 Annual Conference of the International Association of Prosecutors in 2006-Paris 2,916.50 
			 Annual Conference of the International Association of Prosecutors in 2007-Hong Kong 2,349.85 
			 Annual Conference of the International Association of Prosecutors in 2008-Singapore 4,866.57 
		
	
	Staff from the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) have attended the following overseas conferences in the last three years:
	
		
			  Conference  Staff numbers  Travel and subsistence cost 
			 20 Years of Criminal Justice Reform-22 to 26 June 2007, Vancouver, Canada 1 £950 
			 Data Recovery and Analysis-5 to 15 March 2007, Chicago, USA 3 £7,830 
			 IAP European Regional Conference-17 March 2007, Den Haag, Netherlands 1 £94.32 
			 Advanced Data Recovery-10 to 14 September 2007, Chicago, USA 2 £1,600 
			 Global Conference on Economic Crime-22 October 2007, location not recorded 1 $150 
			 ICLN Conference-10 to 14 December 2007, location not recorded 1 795 euros 
			 System Forensics, Investigation and Response-7 to 12 April 2008, Dublin, Ireland 2 5,724 euros 
			 Mobile Phone Forensics World Conference-8 to 10 May 2008., New York, USA 1 $300 
			 Cybercop 202 Forensic Application-28 to 31 July 2008, Chicago, USA 1 No cost 
			 Black Hat USA 2008 Briefings-6 to 7 August 2008, Boston, USA 2 £1,615.79 
			 Techno Forensics-27 to 29 October 2008, Washington, USA 2 $990 
			 Handheld Forensics-10 to 11 November 2008, Washington, USA 1 $2,395 
			 POCLA Conference-26 June 2009, Amsterdam, Netherlands 1 £128 
			 The 14th Annual Conference and General Meeting of the International Association of Prosecutors-6 to 10 September 2009. Kiev, Ukraine 2 3,200 euros 
		
	
	No conferences held overseas were attended by National Fraud Authority staff in 2008-09 when the Agency launched.
	The Crown Prosecution Service is a devolved organisation. Although expenditure data on overseas travel are available, the Department has not kept central records of the reason for travel or which overseas conferences have been attended by CPS staff in the last three years. To provide this information would involve checking paper records across the CPS and would incur disproportionate costs.

Departmental Legislation

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Solicitor-General what criminal offences have been  (a) created and  (b) abolished by secondary legislation sponsored by the Law Officers' Departments since 1 May 2008.

Vera Baird: The Law Officers' Departments have not sponsored any secondary legislation since 1 May 2008 that has created or abolished a criminal offence.

Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office: Conferences

Graham Stuart: To ask the Solicitor-General how many  (a) away days and  (b) conferences that took place outside the Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office's buildings attended by civil servants in the Revenue and Customs Prosecution Office there have been since 2005; and what the cost was of each.

Vera Baird: Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office (RCPO) is committed to providing a rewarding and stimulating working environment in which our employees can develop and excel. Consequently, RCPO organises a number of events to set strategy, develop and engage its employees, including:
	senior managers' away days to review corporate performance and set future plans
	all-staff conferences to deliver key messages, outline strategy and celebrate corporate successes
	 (a) Since 2005 RCPO has organised seven senior manager away days, at a cost of £39,286.
	 (b) RCPO has accounted for domestic conference charges as a separate item of expenditure from September 2007. Since that date staff have attended 34 conferences, including all-staff conferences, at a cost of £166,930.
	 (c) Staff from RCPO have also attended nine overseas conferences since 2005, at a cost of £60,988.

Trials

Edward Garnier: To ask the Solicitor-General in respect of each case which went to trial and resulted in a judge-directed acquittal, what the original Crown Prosecution Service lawyer decision had been before it proceeded to trial in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Vera Baird: A case can only proceed to trial in the Crown court where the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has first decided that a defendant should be charged and which charges should be brought, by applying the two stage test of the Code for Crown Prosecutors: that the evidence supports a realistic prospect of conviction; and that it is in the public interest to proceed with a prosecution. Additionally, after a defendant is charged, each case is subject to a process of continuous review to ascertain that both the evidence and the public interest continue to weigh in favour of a prosecution.
	However, while this process is intended to ensure, wherever possible, that weaker cases are identified and dropped before reaching trial, it is neither possible nor desirable that every prosecution should result in a conviction. There will always remain a small number of cases in which essential facts only become apparent later in the process, and even in the course of the trial itself.
	Both the volume and proportion of directed acquittals have improved over recent years.
	The following table shows the number of defendants whose case resulted in a judge directed acquittal during each of the last five years, and expresses these as a proportion of all cases completed in the Crown court. The table also shows the reasons for which cases resulted in a directed acquittal. Information in this format is held only for the last four years.
	
		
			  Reasons for Judge directed acquittals 
			   2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			   Volume  Percentage of total completed cases  Volume  Percentage of total completed cases  Volume  Percentage of total completed cases  Volume  Percentage of total completed cases 
			 E10 Key witness does not support case 44 0.0 50 0.1 27 0.0 27 0.0 
			 E11 Unreliable/lack of identification 160 0.2 144 0.2 129 0.1 122 0.1 
			 E1 Inadmissible evidence-breach of PACE 10 0.0 13 0.0 5 0.0 9 0.0 
			 E2 Inadmissible evidence-other than breach of PACE 19 0.0 9 0.0 15 0.0 5 0.0 
			 E3 Unreliable confession 2 0.0 2 0.0 4 0.0 1 0.0 
			 E4 Conflict of evidence 131 0.1 146 0.2 198 0.2 136 0.1 
			 E5 Essential medical evidence missing 10 0.0 1 0.0 2 0.0 1 0.0 
			 E6 Essential forensic evidence missing 24 0.0 8 0.0 14 0.0 12 0.0 
			 E7 Essential legal element missing 271 0.3 228 0.3 239 0.2 212 0.2 
			 E8 Unreliable witness or witnesses 198 0.2 182 0.2 188 0.2 114 0.1 
			 E9 Key victim does not support case 121 0.1 96 0.1 76 0.1 63 0.1 
			  Evidential reasons 990 1.1 879 1.0 897 0.9 702 0.7 
			 P12 Effect on victim's physical or mental health 9 0.0 5 0.0 2 0.0 2 0.0 
			 P13 Suspect/Defendant elderly or in significant ill health 10 0.0 4 0.0 4 0.0 2 0.0 
			 P14 Loss or harm minor and single incident 0 0.0 0 0.0 3 0.0 0 0.0 
			 P15 Loss or harm put right 1 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 
			 P16 Long delay between offence/charge or trial 6 0.0 5 0.0 2 0.0 3 0.0 
			 P17 Very small or nominal penalty 1 0.0 1 0.0 1 0.0 2 0.0 
			 P18 Other indictment/sentence 21 0.0 10 0.0 3 0.0 12 0.0 
			 P19 Informer or other public interest immunity issues 0 0.0 6 0.0 14 0.0 6 0.0 
			 P20 Caution more suitable 0 0.0 1 0.0 1 0.0 1 0.0 
			 P21 Youth of offender 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 
			 P22 Conditional caution more suitable 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 
			 P36 Inappropriate to compel victim 0 0.0 3 0.0 1 0.0 1 0.0 
			 P37 Inappropriate to compel witness 0 0.0 0 0.0 1 0.0 0 0.0 
			  Public interest reasons 48 0.1 35 0.0 32 0.0 29 0.0 
			 U22 File not received from police-adjournment refused 12 0.0 7 0.0 2 0.0 3 0.0 
			 U23 CPS not ready-adjournment refused 17 0.0 13 0.0 5 0.0 6 0.0 
			 U24 Offence taken into consideration 1 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 
			 U25 Victim refuses to give evidence or retracts 32 0.0 47 0.1 16 0.0 19 0.0 
			 U26 Other witness refuses to give evidence or retracts 8 0.0 10 0.0 3 0.0 2 0.0 
			 U27 Victim fails to attend unexpectedly 13 0.0 27 0.0 29 0.0 15 0.0 
			 U28 Other civilian witness fails to attend unexpectedly 9 0.0 7 0.0 6 0.0 2 0.0 
			 U29 Police witness fails to attend unexpectedly 7 0.0 2 0.0 1 0.0 0 0.0 
			 U30 Victim intimidation 0 0.0 0 0.0 2 0.0 2 0.0 
			 U31 Other civilian witness intimidation 0 0.0 0 0.0 4 0.0 0 0.0 
			 U32 Documents produced at court 0 0.0 0 0.0 3 0.0 1 0.0 
			  Unable to proceed reasons 99 0.1 113 0.1 71 0.1 50 0.0 
			 033 Bind over acceptable 33 0.0 40 0.0 30 0.0 21 0.0 
			 034 Acquittal after trial 126 0.1 148 0.2 132 0.1 149 0.1 
			 035 Other 109 0.1 39 0.0 27 0.0 38 0.0 
			  Other reasons 268 0.3 227 0.3 189 0.2 208 0.2 
			 Total Judge directed acquittals 1,405 1.5 1,254 1.4 1,189 1.2 989 1.0 
			 Total unsuccessful outcomes 69,832 76.4 69,549 77.0 77,428 79.4 84,000 80.9 
			 Total convictions 21,526 23.6 20,720 23.0 20,101 20.6 19,890 19.1 
			 Total completed case outcomes 91,358 - 90,269 - 97,529 - 103,890 -

DEFENCE

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether his Department has made any payments to protect the provision of supplies to UK forces in Afghanistan from Pakistan.

Bob Ainsworth: The Ministry of Defence contracts with industry for the provision of supplies to UK forces in Afghanistan from Pakistan. The Department has not made any payments to protect the provision of these supplies.

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress has been made in searching for Osama bin Laden; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Ainsworth: We have not received any reliable intelligence on the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden for a number of years.

Air Force: Military Bases

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 7 December 2009,  Official Report, column 90W, on the Royal Air Force: military bases, what the  (a) name and  (b) rank of the US base commander is at (i) RAF Croughton, (ii) RAF Barford St John, (iii) RAF Menwith Hill, (iv) RAF Fairford, (v) RAF Welford, (vi) RAF Alconbury, (vii) RAF Molesworth, (viii) RAF Lakenheath and (ix) RAF Mildenhall.

Bill Rammell: The name and rank of the US base commander at the RAF stations listed as follows are:
	
		
			  Name and rank  of US base commander  RAF station 
			 Colonel Renner RAF Croughton/RAF Barford St. John 
			 Colonel O'Brien RAF Menwith Hill 
			 Lieutenant Colonel Price RAF Fairford/RAF Welford 
			 Colonel Cashdollar RAF Alconbury/RAF Molesworth 
			 Colonel Silveria RAF Lakenheath 
			 Colonel Manske RAF Mildenhall

Armed Forces: Aviation

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many and what percentage of flights of  (a) miltary aircraft and  (b) aircraft chartered by his Department to and from Afghanistan have been delayed by more than six hours in each month since January 2008.

Bob Ainsworth: The information on flights delayed by more than six hours is provided in the following table.
	
		
			   Number of military flights  Percentage of military flights  Number of civilian flights  Percentage of civilian flights 
			  2008 
			 January 1 2.9 5 12.8 
			 February 0 0 0 0 
			 March 10 22.7 0 0 
			 April 4 9.5 2 5.7 
			 May 1 2.5 3 8.6 
			 June 1 2.4 2 6.1 
			 July 10 22.7 5 16.7 
			 August 24 54.5 1 2.7 
			 September 10 22.7 1 2.9 
			 October 9 15.5 0 0 
			 November 7 15.2 1 3.2 
			 December 10 20 1 2.4 
			  2009 
			 January 15 24.2 1 5 
			 February 24 41.4 3 4.6 
			 March 20 24.4 2 2.7 
			 April 10 15.1 0 0 
			 May 1 1.8 8 6.3 
			 June 6 10 3 4.1 
			 July 8 12.9 0 0 
			 August 2 3 2 2.5 
			 September 9 10 12 11.3 
			 October 9 10 2 2.4 
			 November 9 13.6 10 7.8 
			 December 0 0 2 8.3 
			 Total 200 14.3 66 5 
			  Notes: 1. Up to 10 December 2009 2. The figures for military aircraft only include passenger flights as delays to freight flights are not recorded. The charter flight figures are only for freight.

Armed Forces: Bomb Disposal

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what potential sites are proposed for the recently announced bomb disposal training centre.

Kevan Jones: Wimbish in Essex is being considered as the potential location for the Counter-Improvised Explosive Device Task Force training facility announced by the Prime Minister on 14 December 2009.

Armed Forces: Bomb Disposal

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many bomb disposal robots  (a) have been ordered in each of the last five years and  (b) are currently on order.

Quentin Davies: I am withholding details on the number of bomb disposal robots ordered over the last five years and currently on order, as disclosure would, or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the armed forces.

Armed Forces: Bomb Disposal

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many of the armed forces' TALON bomb disposal robots have been damaged due to human error in the last 12 months.

Bill Rammell: No TALON bomb disposal robots have been damaged by human error in the last 12 months.

Armed Forces: Officers

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many  (a) commodores,  (b) brigadiers and  (c) air commodores there were in each year since 1997.

Kevan Jones: The number of Commodores, Brigadiers and Air Commodores each year since 1997 can be found in the following table.
	
		
			   Naval  Army  Royal Air Force  Total 
			 1997 82 170 95 350 
			 1998 90 180 92 360 
			 1999 99 180 92 370 
			 2000 92 180 98 370 
			 2001 95 190 96 380 
			 2002 94 180 90 370 
			 2003 95 180 88 360 
			 2004 97 180 90 370 
			 2005 83 180 92 350 
			 2006 80 180 90 350 
			 2007 75 180 95 350 
			 2008 79 180 94 350 
			 2009 84 190 90 360 
		
	
	Naval Service figures include Royal Navy commodores and Royal Marines brigadiers.
	Data provided for 2007 to 2009 should be considered provisional due to the ongoing validation of data from the Joint Personnel Administration (JPA) System. Figures above 100 have rounded to the nearest 10.

Armed Forces: Training

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the effect on attendance at Officer Training Corps of the in-year savings announced earlier in 2009.

Bill Rammell: Following a reduction in the University Officer Training Corps (UOTC) budget in October, cadet pay has been suspended until April 2010. This was one of a number of budgetary measures taken this year by the Army to enable resources to be better focused on the MOD's main effort in Afghanistan.
	A number of UOTC commanders have reported reduced attendance since the suspension of cadet pay. Attendance levels normally drop away at this time of year, as first year undergraduates decide which activities are for them. We will have a clearer picture of students' intentions once they have returned from their Christmas break. Our intention is to restore cadet pay in the next financial year and we hope that the majority of officer cadets will be able to ride out this temporary difficulty.

Armed Forces: Training

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the attendance levels have been at Officers Training Corps for each unit as a percentage of  (a) establishment and  (b) actual strength in each of the last 12 months.

Bill Rammell: The attendance levels at each unit of the Officer Training Corps, in each of the last 12 months, as a percentage of establishment and actual strength, is shown in the following tables:
	
		
			  Percentage 
			   January  February  March  April  May  June 
			  Unit  Estab  Actual  Estab  Actual  Estab  Actual  Estab  Actual  Estab  Actual  Estab  Actual 
			 Aberdeen 57 41 75 58 69 57 62 53 54 50 61 61 
			 Birmingham 136 88 142 92 75 48 26 17 51 33 152 99 
			 Bristol 62 41 67 45 75 52 44 31 30 21 109 77 
			 Cambridge 54 53 53 52 39 46 22 26 17 23 25 34 
			 East Midlands 0 0 68 51 69 61 41 37 35 33 17 16 
			 Edinburgh 48 31 56 36 51 32 11 6 42 35 51 47 
			 Exeter 28 21 51 39 57 43 6 5 38 31 33 31 
			 Glasgow and Strathclyde 86 78 85 77 77 72 71 70 0 0 77 79 
			 Leeds 78 43 120 71 91 56 9 6 47 33 51 36 
			 Liverpool 71 45 76 61 67 58 55 52 42 40 31 30 
			 London 65 57 62 57 40 61 24 36 26 40 61 92 
			 Manchester and Salford 57 37 77 58 76 60 51 39 36 28 65 56 
			 Northumbrian 96 49 112 58 126 68 110 60 83 43 89 49 
			 Oxford 60 31 54 28 49 26 55 29 39 20 38 20 
			 Queens 30 21 81 54 81 54 83 62 36 27 83 70 
			 Sheffield 57 27 78 37 88 54 58 37 51 33 94 63 
			 Southampton 42 33 65 63 60 61 38 39 33 35 27 28 
			 Tayforth 97 43 136 60 125 57 109 52 107 50 93 45 
			 Wales 90 64 100 70 101 70 68 51 59 47 103 85 
		
	
	
		
			  Percentage 
			   July  August  September  October  November  December 
			  Unit  Estab  Actual  Estab  Actual  Estab  Actual  Estab  Actual  Estab  Actual  Estab  Actual 
			 Aberdeen 25 28 4 5 22 28 75 72 58 56 46 45 
			 Birmingham 152 99 30 19 46 30 36 32 88 83 74 72 
			 Bristol 109 77 11 8 14 11 47 48 50 33 39 26 
			 Cambridge 37 51 20 28 11 15 67 59 59 51 53 51 
			 East Midlands 75 74 0 0 46 47 48 32 68 54 0 0 
			 Edinburgh 11 10 8 7 101 57 42 25 34 21 13 8 
			 Exeter 24 25 9 9 0 0 30 39 35 55 44 73 
			 Glasgow and Strathclyde 0 0 0 0 0 0 80 69 76 65 65 56 
			 Leeds 117 88 47 41 38 33 105 92 91 43 72 47 
			 Liverpool 88 84 0 0 0 0 92 64 106 74 88 64 
			 London 55 83 9 18 31 60 103 85 98 81 69 60 
			 Manchester and Salford 15 13 37 38 38 39 75 49 62 48 0 0 
			 Northumbrian 65 37 86 49 24 14 54 33 159 63 133 53 
			 Oxford 74 47 34 22 33 41 76 95 61 44 48 36 
			 Queens 0 0 71 70 36 43 33 44 29 44 28 28 
			 Sheffield 33 22 33 22 43 31 109 69 80 54 80 62 
			 Southampton 0 0 0 0 0 0 91 85 75 71 63 59 
			 Tayforth 31 16 30 20 113 79 138 93 125 66 80 46 
			 Wales 103 87 25 21 70 60 109 68 96 56 64 37 
		
	
	These figures are average monthly figures, collated by the OTC units. December figures are as at 11 December. Actual activity levels vary from month to month and are typically low during exam periods and holidays.

Armed Forces: Training

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what categories of service personnel train at the Officer Training Corps; and which of those categories  (a) receive and  (b) do not receive payment while undertaking such training.

Bill Rammell: The categories of service personnel involved in training at the Officer Training Corps are as follows:
	Permanent Staff Regular Army staff;
	Permanent Staff Group A Territorial Army (TA) staff; and
	Territorial Army (TA) Group B Officer Cadets (Students).
	Following the temporary in-year savings measures introduced in October 2009, the only categories currently receiving pay are Regular Army personnel, group A TA staff and those group B officer cadets who are TA second lieutenant instructors delivering military leadership development programme levels 1, 2 and 3 training. Bursars are receiving their bursars grants but are unpaid for officer cadet activity.
	All remaining officer cadets have temporarily had their pay suspended.

Armed Forces: Training

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his statement of 15 December 2009,  Official Report, columns 801-4, on the future defence programme, what assessment he has made of the effects on  (a) the Defence Training Review and  (b) RAF St Athan of implementation of the measures announced in the statement.

Bob Ainsworth: My oral statement of 15 December 2009,  Official Report, columns 801-4 does not impact upon the Defence Training Review and RAF St. Athan.

Armed Forces: Weapons

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many  (a) Javelin missiles,  (b) multiple rocket launcher rockets and  (c) mortar rounds have been fired in each of the last 12 months for which figures are available; and what the cost is of each missile fired in each category.

Quentin Davies: The following table sets out the number of Javelin missiles, guided multiple rocket launcher system rockets and mortar rounds that have been fired on operations and in training in the last 12 months:
	
		
			 Mortar 
			   Javelin( 1)  GMLRS( 1, 2)  81mm  60mm( 1)  51mm 
			  2008  
			 December 70 50 8300 - - 
			  2009  
			 January 80 40 21200 500 - 
			 February 55 25 18100 100 - 
			 March 35 45 17700 1000 - 
			 April 35 60 6800 - - 
			 May 50 45 11200 200 - 
			 June 30 45 14000 200 300 
			 July 50 20 7900 100 - 
			 August 70 40 6800 300 - 
			 September 15 20 7800 300 200 
			 October 55 15 11000 - 300 
			 November 35 5 14800 800 - 
			 (1) These rounds of ammunition are procured from overseas and therefore the costs are subject to exchange rate fluctuations. (2 )Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System.  Note: Figures have been taken from a variety of sources, including operational records, and accuracy cannot therefore be fully guaranteed. The figures do not necessarily relate to when fired, but often when ordered. All figures have been rounded to the nearest five in the case of Javelin and GMLRS and 100 for mortar rounds. 
		
	
	The approximate current cost per Guided Multiple Launch Rocket is £68,000.
	The Javelin missiles fired in the last 12 months have been procured under two different contracts. The average cost of each missile would have been approximately £49,000.
	The cost of 51mm mortars ranges from approximately £80 to approximately £160 depending on the variant fired. The cost of 60mm mortars ranges from approximately £185 to approximately £640 depending on the variant fired. We do not hold data for the expenditure of 60mm mortars in all months. The cost of 81mm mortars ranges from approximately £190 to approximately £890 depending on the variant fired.

Defence: Expenditure

Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department spent on defence in  (a) 1997 and  (b) the latest year for which figures are available.

Bob Ainsworth: The MOD's total expenditure (outturn), in near cash and non-cash, including and excluding the cost of all military operations for each year since 2001-02 is as follows:
	
		
			  £000 
			2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			 Total MOD outturn Near cash 24,511,054 26,930,775 27,795,583 28,876,022 29,635,000 31,245,735 31,820,049 35,568,736 
			  Non-cash 13,483,254 21,180,812 12,734,259 10,233,569 11,664,951 9,943,505 11,723,214 10,080,378 
			  Total 37,994,308 48,111,587 40,529,842 39,109,591 41,299,951 41,189,240 43,543,263 45,649,114 
			   
			 Less military operations Near cash 550,597 1,381,971 1,349,132 1,039,093 1,201,921 1,731,368 2,744,977 3,696,650 
			  Non-cash 35,488 54,148 144,298 72,930 65,170 65,250 286,938 394,554 
			  Total 586,085 1,436,119 1,493,430 1,112,023 1,267,091 1,796,618 3,031,915 4,091,204 
			   
			 Net MOD outturn Near cash 23,960,457 25,548,804 26,446,451 27,836,929 28,433,079 29,514,367 29,075,072 31,872,086 
			  Non-cash 13,447,766 21,126,664 12,589,961 10,160,639 11,599,781 9,878,255 11,436,276 9,685,824 
			  Total 37,408,223 46,675,468 39,036,412 37,997,568 40,032,860 39,392,622 40,511,348 41,557,910 
		
	
	The Department did not produce full accounts until the introduction of Resource Accounting and Budgeting for the financial year 2001-02. Prior to this, the Department's outturn was reported in the end of year 'Appropriations Accounts and Estimates Reports'. Copies are placed in the Library of the House. Appropriations accounts do not, however, separately identify the cost of operations or the costs of the security and intelligence services, and that information is not held centrally. The figures for this current financial year will be available in the annual report usually published in July.
	The only way to compare historic MOD defence spending is through the near cash element of the budget, as laid out in the spending review letters, but this does not include all aspects of the MOD spend, e.g. depreciation and cost of capital.
	1997-98 MOD near cash budget was £21,800 million.
	2009-10 MOD near cash budget is £31,921 million.
	2010-11 MOD near cash budget is planned to be £33,328 million.

Departmental Air Travel

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his Department's policy is on the accumulation and use of air miles by his Department's personnel flying at public expense.

Kevan Jones: Crown servants travelling by air on MOD business, paid for from public funds, must not make private use of frequent flyer bonuses that arise as a result of that expenditure, for example air miles. They may, however, collect such bonuses to enable them to use the associated benefits in respect of official travel. The receipt of any benefits accruing from official travel must be recorded in hospitality books.
	These rules apply to all MOD civilian staff and service personnel, described collectively as "Crown servants".

Departmental Pay

Peter Kilfoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many  (a) full-time employees of his Department with 25 years or more service and  (b) full-time employees of his Department earn £15,000 per annum or less.

Bob Ainsworth: The total number of full-time employees in the Department with 25 years or more service is 9,971 of whom 144 earn less than £15,000.
	The total number of full-time employees in the Department who earn £15,000 or less is 5,185.

Departmental Public Expenditure

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how the 2009 Pre-Budget Report affects his Department's spending plans for  (a) 2009-10 and  (b) 2010-11; and if he will publish an updated version of Table 1.2 on pages 20 and 21 of his Department's Annual Report and Accounts 2008-09.

Bob Ainsworth: The Pre-budget Report (PBR) did not change the Ministry of Defence's budget up to the end of the current spending review period in 2010-11. The only change announced at the PBR that will affect the MOD's spending plan is the 0.5 per cent. further increase in national insurance, which will cost approximately £35 million per annum from 2011-12.
	We currently have no plan to reissue the total departmental spending table until the next publication of the Departmental Annual Report and Accounts in July 2010.

Future Large Aircraft

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what meetings his Department has had with EADS on renegotiating the initial contract for the Airbus A400M.

Quentin Davies: Officials from the UK, along with those from partner nations and OCCAR, have participated in a range of meetings with both EADS and Airbus Military and I have myself had several meetings with them.
	As these discussions are ongoing, it would not be appropriate for me to comment on them at this stage.

Germany: British Forces Post Office

Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what funding will be provided to the British Forces Post Office in Germany in  (a) 2009,  (b) 2010,  (c) 2011 and  (d) 2012.

Bill Rammell: The British Forces Post Office (BFPO) mail service to and within Germany comprises two services.
	The first is a six day a week return contracted road container service from BFPO Northolt to Dulmen, which takes outward mail from Northolt and returns UK-addressed mail from Dulmen. This service is controlled and funded by BFPO, at a cost of £530,000 per annum.
	The second service, within Germany, comprises the distribution of outward mail from Dulmen to forces post offices and to units, and the collection of inward mail from forces post offices for delivery to Dulmen.
	The forecast costs to provide the postal support role, including personnel, equipment and infrastructure costs are provided as follows.
	
		
			  Financial year  Approximate cost (£) 
			 2009-10 5,293,000 
			 2010-11 5,402,000 
			 2011-12 5,509,000 
			 2012-13 5,617,000

Gibraltar: Navy

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether Royal Navy warships are stationed in British Gibraltar territorial waters.

Bill Rammell: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 15 June 2009,  Official Report, column 8W.

Hotels

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many hotel room nights were booked by officials in  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies in each year since 2007; and how much (i) his Department and (ii) its agencies spent on the fees of third party agents in booking hotel accommodation in each of those years.

Kevan Jones: This information is not held in the format requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Iraq Committee of Inquiry

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many  (a) documents and  (b) other items of information held in electronic format at each security classification have been submitted to the Iraq Inquiry by his Department; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Ainsworth: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to her by the Minister for the Cabinet Office on 14 December 2009,  Official Report, column 840W. My Department is in the process of providing the Iraq Inquiry with all the documents and electronic information it holds that has been requested to date. This information spans every level of Government security classification.

Iraq Committee of Inquiry: Reserve Forces

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many reservists from each branch have  (a) been called up and  (b) volunteered to assist with the Iraq Inquiry;
	(2)  what length of time the reservists appointed to assist the Iraq Inquiry are expected to serve in that role;
	(3)  what steps his Department is taking to  (a) accommodate in military barracks the reservists aiding the Iraq Inquiry and  (b) reimburse their living costs.

Bob Ainsworth: No reservists have been deployed to assist the Iraq Inquiry.

Iraq: Oil

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many UK armed forces personnel are involved in the protection of Iraqi oil facilities.

Bob Ainsworth: To the nearest 50, there are 200 UK armed forces personnel involved in the protection of Iraq's off-shore oil platforms. No UK personnel are involved in defending oil facilities on land.
	The precise number of personnel in theatre fluctuates on a daily basis for a variety of reasons, including mid-tour rest and recuperation, temporary absence for training, evacuation for medical reasons, the roulement of forces, visits and a range of other factors. We do not therefore publish actual figures for personnel deployed in theatre.

Iraq: Oil

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on how many occasions UK armed forces have had to engage hostile forces in the defence of Iraqi oil facilities.

Bob Ainsworth: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Iraq: Prisoners

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with reference to the Statement by the Secretary of State of 26 February 2009,  Official Report, column 396, on records of detention (review conclusions), what recent legal advice his Department has received on its responsibilities to the two individuals detained by British forces in Iraq in 2004 and transferred to the Bagram Theater Internment Facility in Afghanistan.

Bob Ainsworth: The Department takes legal advice where appropriate and necessary. Any such advice is subject to legal professional privilege because communications between lawyers and their clients are confidential.

Met Office

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what meetings are planned for the Met Office Review Group; whether the group plans to consider the Cabinet Office Asset Portfolio; and if he will make a statement.

Kevan Jones: The Met Office Review Group plans to meet regularly over the coming months to continue the work of the Operational Efficiency Programme review as outlined in the Asset Portfolio.

Met Office

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when  (a) Ministers and  (b) officials of his Department next plan to meet the Shareholder Executive to discuss the future of the Met Office; and if he will make a statement.

Kevan Jones: Ministry of Defence (MOD) and Shareholder Executive officials are represented on the Met Office Review Group, which next plans to meet in early 2010. There are no plans for MOD Ministers to meet Shareholder Executive officials to discuss the Met Office.

Met Office

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the composition of the Met Office Review Group will be changed in consequence of the publication of the Cabinet Office's Asset Portfolio; and if he will make a statement.

Kevan Jones: There are no plans to change the composition of the Met Office Review Group.

Met Office

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the likely effects of the publication of the Cabinet Office's Asset Portfolio on the work of the Met Office Review Group; whether any consequential changes will be made to the terms of reference of the Met Office Review Group; and if he will make a statement.

Kevan Jones: The Asset Portfolio gave an update on the findings of the Met Office Operational Efficiency Programme Review to date, and set a direction for future work which will be taken forward by the Review Group over the coming months.
	There are no plans to change the terms of reference of the Met Office Review Group.

Met Office

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether  (a) Ministers and  (b) officials in his Department plan to meet representatives from private sector weather companies to discuss the recent publication of the Cabinet Office's Asset Portfolio; and if he will make a statement.

Kevan Jones: There are no current plans for Ministry of Defence Ministers or officials to meet representatives from private sector weather companies to discuss the recent publication of the Asset Portfolio.
	Shareholder Executive officials have met with private sector weather companies as part of the Met Office Operational Efficiency Programme review.

Military Aircraft: Deployment

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence where will the Joint Force Harrier be deployed to when RAF Cottesmore closes.

Bill Rammell: As announced by the Secretary of State for Defence on 15 December 2009,  Official Report, column 803, RAF Cottesmore will close and the Harrier Force will be consolidated at RAF Wittering.

Military Aircraft: Procurement

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the effects on the economy of the procurement of 24 Chinook helicopters from Boeing.

Bob Ainsworth: The procurement of the new Chinook replaces the planned future medium helicopter competition, for which there was no guaranteed UK work content.
	The Chinook programme provides significant through-life opportunities for UK industry, for example these new aircraft, as with our current Chinook fleet, will be supported onshore. Furthermore, we anticipate that much of the investment required to deliver other elements of the new Rotary Wing Strategy announced on 15 December 2009, such as the modification of Merlin helicopters, will be made in the UK, supporting UK jobs, and sustaining key onshore skills as well as delivering value for money.

Military Aircraft: Procurement

Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department has spent on military aircraft procured from BAE Systems since 1997.

Quentin Davies: Complete information on the costs of aircraft procured from BAE Systems since 1997 is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Such information as is available, relating to initial procurement costs, is contained in the following table. The table excludes the costs of enhancements and modifications to aircraft originally procured before 1997.
	
		
			  Aircraft  Procurement cost (£ million) 
			 Nimrod MRA4 (1)2,932 
			 Hawk T2 (2)557 
			 (1) Costs to date of development and manufacture programme. (2) Costs to date of design and development contract and manufacture contract. 
		
	
	Since 1997, MOD has also made payments for work performed by BAE Systems on the Typhoon aircraft. The Typhoon is procured by the NATO Eurofighter and Tornado Management Agency (NETMA), which manages the programme and funding arrangements on behalf of the four partner nations (UK, Germany, Italy and Spain). Payments for work on Typhoon are made to NETMA. Information on monies paid for work performed by BAE Systems therefore is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, total expenditure on the Typhoon acquisition programme since 1997 is £9.3 billion.

Military Bases: Edinburgh Castle

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he next plans to meet representatives of Historic Scotland to discuss basing arrangements at Edinburgh Castle.

Bill Rammell: My officials met with Historic Scotland on 17 December 2009 to discuss both the Army's and Historic Scotland's development needs at Edinburgh castle and areas of mutual interest. Such meetings take place roughly every six months.

Military Bases: Edinburgh Castle

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he plans to downsize or close the military garrison at Edinburgh Castle; and when a decision will be made on the future of the garrison.

Bill Rammell: There are no plans to downsize or close the garrison at Edinburgh castle.

Military Bases: Edinburgh Castle

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what decisions have been made on the future role of the Governor of Edinburgh Castle.

Bill Rammell: There are no plans to alter the role of the Governor of Edinburgh Castle, which is currently performed by General Officer Commanding 2 Division.

Military Bases: Scotland

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he plans to downsize or close the 2nd Division HQ at Craigiehall; and when a decision will be made on the future of the HQ.

Bill Rammell: The Army is currently reviewing its top-level structures in order to make them clearer and more accountable, and to remove any ambiguity or duplication. This will mean better and more efficient support to the front-line, and to soldiers and their families. Changes at 3 Star level have already been implemented in HQ Land Forces. The review will look at the detail below this level over the coming months. A key part of this will be the examination of the regional forces structures, centred on the Divisional Commands in Scotland, Aldershot, London and Shrewsbury, in the light of the new 3 Star responsibilities. It is too early to say when this work will conclude, what its outcome will be or what implications this may have for particular establishments or locations.

Military Bases: Scotland

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the maintenance costs were for 2nd Division HQ at Craigiehall in each of the last 10 years.

Kevan Jones: Building maintenance costs for the 2nd Division HQ at Craigiehall since October 2003 are shown in the following table. Information prior to October 2003 is not held.
	
		
			  Financial year  Cost (£) 
			 October 2003-March 2004 115,909 
			 2004-05 511,153 
			 2005-06 636,758 
			 2006-07 467,638 
			 2007-08 408,541 
			 2008-09 267,024 
			 April-November 2009 174,505 
		
	
	These figures do not include running costs, such as cleaning or utilities, which could not be separately identified in the time available.

Nimrod Aircraft

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his statement of 15 December 2009,  Official Report, column 801, on the future defence programme, what steps are being taken to ensure the safety of British submarines following the planned withdrawal of Nimrod MR2.

Bob Ainsworth: As indicated in the oral statement, other platforms are capable of providing the maritime patrol responsibilities. I am not prepared to disclose further details as this would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the armed forces.

Offenders

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many employees of his Department and its agencies have been convicted of a criminal offence of each type in each year since 1997.

Bob Ainsworth: The information on the number of employees of the Department and its agencies that have been convicted of a criminal offence of each type in each year since 2007 is as follows:
	1 April 2007 to 31 December 2007: 13;
	1 January 2008 to 31 December 2008: 20;
	1 January 2009 to 18 December 2009: 22.
	The information for 1997 to March 2007 is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Radioactive Materials: Transport

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with reference to the answer of 10 November 2009,  Official Report, column 237W, on radioactive materials: transport, what the reason is for the difference in the expected in-service date for refurbished truck cargo heavy trailers and the date originally specified in the initial gate business case.

Bill Rammell: There has been no change in the expected in-service date for this capability.

Radioactive Materials: Transport

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which of his Department's previous convoy support operations are now undertaken by the Atomic Weapons Establishment.

Bill Rammell: There has been no recent change to the scope of the tasks undertaken by the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) in support of convoy operations. Plans are in place however to transfer to the AWE contractor, during the second quarter of 2010, the responsibility for managing four areas of support. These are administrative support of the Special Safety Cell, maintenance of the fleet of escort vehicles, documentation management and training. The Ministry of Defence retains control of all these tasks.

Royal Fleet Auxiliary

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what audit has been undertaken of the work of private companies servicing the Royal Fleet Auxiliary.

Quentin Davies: holding answer 14 December 2009
	We have carried out a range of audits and reviews of the work carried out by the five through-life cluster support contractors servicing the vessels of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. Examples include quality audits, periodic performance reviews, work package acceptance procedures, and MOD and Third Party assurance processes. These will continue throughout the life of the contracts and will ensure that works are carried out in accordance with requirements.
	In addition, the five contractors are required to hold the appropriate ISO 9001 Quality Management System certification, which is subject to regular independent audit.

Security

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many UK private military and security companies have been awarded contracts by his Department to carry out work in  (a) Afghanistan,  (b) Iraq,  (c) Sudan,  (d) Israel,  (e) Somalia,  (f) Pakistan,  (g) Colombia,  (h) Ethiopia and  (i) Eritrea in (i) 2005, (ii) 2006, (iii) 2007, (iv) 2008, (v) 2009 and (vi) future years; and what the monetary value is of each contract.

Quentin Davies: One UK private security company was awarded a contract to provide security for the UK defence advisers' accommodation in Kabul for three months in 2006-07: this contract was worth £37,000.
	One UK private security company was awarded a contract to guard two compounds in Basra palace in 2008: this contract was worth £1,113,000.
	No contracts have been awarded by this Department to private military and security companies for work in Sudan, Israel, Somalia, Pakistan, Colombia, Ethiopia or Eritrea.

Security

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions his Department  (a) has had recently and  (b) is planning to have with US officials on regulation of private military and security companies in Iraq and Afghanistan; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Ainsworth: Ministry of Defence staff have frequent and regular communication with their US equivalents in order to ensure our coherence on a range of issues. The subject of private military security companies (PMSCs) has been discussed at staff level in broad terms over recent months as part of this routine interaction.
	The US, UK and Swiss Governments have all been working together closely to agree a set of draft international standards for the PMSC industry. As the lead UK Department on PMSC policy, the FCO hopes to agree these standards with the US and Swiss Governments in the course of next year through a series of workshops and a plenary conference where MOD will be represented.

Territorial Army: Manpower

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Territorial Army soldiers there were of each rank in each year since 1997.

Bill Rammell: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 11 November 2009,  Official Report, column 410W to the hon. Member for Woodspring (Dr. Fox).

Trident

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects to make his announcement on the decision on the initial gate of the approval process for a replacement for Trident submarines.

Bob Ainsworth: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 16 December 2009,  Official Report, column 1218W, to the hon. Member for Keighley (Mrs. Cryer).

Type 45 Destroyers

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the estimated cost is of procurement and installation of the Sea Viper Missile system on the Type 45 destroyers.

Quentin Davies: The costs for designing and manufacturing the Principal Anti Air Missile System (PAAMS), renamed Sea Viper by the Royal Navy, and for installing it on each of the six Type 45 Destroyers are included as part of the overall Type 45 programme costs of £6.5 billion. These costs also include the design and manufacture of the six Type 45s and are broadly split 60 per cent (£4 billion) for the ships and 40 per cent. (2.5 billion) for the weapons system.

Type 45 Destroyers

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to equip Type 45 destroyers with the Sea Viper Missile system; and if he will make a statement.

Quentin Davies: The Sea Viper missile system is to be fitted to all six of the Type 45 Destroyers being built for the Royal Navy. The first ship in the Class, HMS DARING, is currently undergoing final MOD controlled Trials and Acceptance activity, including integration and trials of the Sea Viper missile system, prior to entering service with the Royal Navy.

Type 45 Destroyers

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many test firings of the Sea Viper missile have taken place; how much each firing cost; and how many of each firing have been successful.

Quentin Davies: Four test firings of the Sea Viper missile have taken place. These trials have all successfully provided vital system and performance evidence. This has enabled Sea Viper qualification and ship trials to progress in accordance with the planned Type 45 programme. Two of the test firings did not, however, meet all the planned trials objectives.
	The test firings form part of the contract for the development and initial production of the Sea Viper system and the costs are not separately identifiable.

Warships

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with reference to his Statement of 15 December 2009, when the minehunter will be decommissioned; and what the UK base is of that minehunter.

Quentin Davies: On current plans HMS Walney will be withdrawn from service in April 2010. Her base port is Faslane.

WALES

Offenders

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many employees of his Department have been convicted of a criminal offence of each type in each year since 1997.

Peter Hain: None.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Arts Council England: Advertising

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much Arts Council England has spent on advertising in each of the last five years.

Margaret Hodge: This is a matter for Arts Council England, which operates independently of Government.
	I have therefore asked Arts Council England's chief executive to consider the question raised by my hon. Friend the Member for West Bromwich, East and to write to him direct.
	Copies of the reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Arts Council England: Audit

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what audits have been undertaken since 1994 on restructuring of Arts Council England.

Margaret Hodge: Arts Council England's costs and savings are recorded as part of their external audit and are published with their annual report and accounts.

Arts Council England: Consultants

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many consultants Arts Council England has hired in each of the last five years; and at what cost in each of those years.

Margaret Hodge: This is a matter for Arts Council England, which operates independently of Government.
	I have therefore asked Arts Council England's chief executive to consider the question raised by my hon. Friend the Member for West Bromwich, East and to write to him direct.
	Copies of the reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Arts Council England: Redundancy

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much Arts Council England has set aside for redundancy payments in respect of its proposed restructuring; what proportion of this sum the organisation plans to spend on redundancy payments to employees in the West Midlands; and if he will make a statement.

Margaret Hodge: This is a matter for Arts Council England, which operates independently of Government.
	I have therefore asked Arts Council England's chief executive to consider the question raised by my hon. Friend the Member for West Bromwich, East and to write to him direct.
	Copies of the reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Arts Council England: Venture Capital

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much venture capital Arts Council England has provided to small creative enterprises since its inception under the Creative Britain strategy; and how many creative enterprises have received such funding.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 14 December 2009
	Arts Council England funds individuals and organisations through its Grants for the Arts scheme, rather than providing venture capital for small creative enterprises.
	Arts Council England provided £46,021,104 in Grants for the Arts funding in 2008-09. So far in 2009-10 it has made grants totalling £22,375,366. Many of these grants have gone to organisations that could be described as creative enterprises.

Arts Council of England

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what he expects the  (a) final severance and  (b) pension arrangements to be for the outgoing executive director of Arts Council England in (i) the South East and (ii) Yorkshire region; and if he will make a statement.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 15 December 2009
	This is a matter for Arts Council England, which operates independently of Government.
	I have therefore asked Arts Council England's chief executive to consider the question raised by the Member for West Bromwich, East and to write to him direct.
	Copies of the reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Arts Council of England

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  if he will publish the guidelines issued to Arts Council England staff who  (a) accept secondary jobs and  (b) hold contracts which provide a secondary income;
	(2)  if he will publish the equal opportunities policy of Arts Council England;
	(3)  if he will publish the standard redundancy agreements used by Arts Council England;
	(4)  if he will publish the standard contract used by Arts Council England for employing staff.

Margaret Hodge: The issues raised are the responsibility of Arts Council England. This Department does not hold the documents mentioned.
	I have asked the chief executive of Arts Council England to write direct to my hon. Friend the Member for West Bromwich, East.
	Copies of the reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Arts Council of England

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what freedom of information requests have been received by Arts Council England in each of the last three years.

Margaret Hodge: The information requested relates to matters that are the responsibility of Arts Council England.
	Accordingly, I have asked the chief executive of Arts Council England to write direct to my hon. Friend the Member for West Bromwich, East.
	Copies of the reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Arts Council of England

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  for what private members' clubs used by ( a) staff and  (b) board members of Arts Council England that organisation pays membership (i) subscription and (ii) part-subscription;
	(2)  what overseas conferences were attended by Arts Council England  (a) staff and  (b) board members in each of the last three years;
	(3)  what catering facilities are provided for staff at Arts Council England's head office in London;
	(4)  how many mobile telephone devices are used by Arts Council England where the cost of calls is  (a) fully and  (b) partially paid for by the organisation;
	(5)  how much has been spent on  (a) furnishing and  (b) decoration of the Office of the (i) Chief Executive and (ii) Chair of Arts Council England in each of the last three years;
	(6)  how many domestic flights were taken by Arts Council England  (a) staff and  (b) board members in each of the last three years;
	(7)  how much Arts Council England spent on overnight  (a) accommodation and  (b) expenses for (i) its staff and (ii) its board members in each of the last three years;
	(8)  how much has been spent on  (a) maintenance and  (b) redecoration by Arts Council England in each of its regional offices in each of the last three years;
	(9)  how much was spent by Arts Council England at its head office on  (a) cut flowers and  (b) pot plants in each of the last three years;
	(10)  how much Arts Council England spent on car parking costs in each of the last three years;
	(11)  how much has been spent on carpets by Arts Council England for its  (a) head office and  (b) regional offices in each of the last three years;
	(12)  how many  (a) desktop and  (b) laptop computers have been purchased for use at Arts Council England's (i) head office and (ii) regional offices in each of the last three years;
	(13)  how much was spent on  (a) taxi,  (b) bus and  (c) train journeys undertaken by staff employed at Arts Council England's head office in each of the last three years;
	(14)  how much Arts Council England spent on purchasing  (a) newspapers and  (b) magazines at its head office in each of the last three years.

Margaret Hodge: The information requested relates to operational matters that are the responsibility of Arts Council England.
	Accordingly, I have asked the chief executive of Arts Council England to write direct to my hon. Friend the Member for West Bromwich, East.
	Copies of the reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Arts Council of England

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many  (a) desktop and  (b) laptop computers have been lost by staff employed by Arts Council England in each of the last three years.

Margaret Hodge: The information requested relates to operational matters that are the responsibility of Arts Council England.
	Accordingly, I have asked the chief executive of Arts Council England to write direct to my hon. Friend the Member for West Bromwich, East.
	Copies of the reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Arts Council of England

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport who the members are of Arts Council England's audit committee.

Margaret Hodge: Arts Council England (ACE) has advised that the following are members of the audit committee:
	Anil Ruia (chair)
	Alistair Spalding
	Rosemary Squire
	Gill Laver (independent member)
	David Carter (independent member).
	Membership of the ACE audit committee is due to change in January 2010.

Arts Council of England

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will publish the policy used to guide board members of Arts Council England on what issues should be discussed in  (a) public and  (b) private.

Margaret Hodge: This is a matter for Arts Council England. Accordingly, I have asked the chief executive to write direct to my hon. Friend the Member for West Bromwich, East.
	Copies of the reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Arts Council of England

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  how many former Arts Council England national council members have subsequently been employed  (a) by Arts Council England and  (b) on projects that have received Arts Council England-approved funding in each of the last five years;
	(2)  which job vacancies there were at Arts Council England as of 11 December 2009;
	(3)  how many staff currently employed by Arts Council England have Transfer of Undertakings Protection of Employment agreements;
	(4)  when Graham Devlin's term of employment at Arts Council England  (a) commenced and  (b) ended.
	(5)  how many  (a) white and  (b) black and minority ethnic members of staff are employed by Arts Council England;
	(6)  how many  (a) industrial and  (b) employment tribunal cases have been taken out against Arts Council England in each of the last three years;
	(7)  how much external training provided to Arts Council England staff cost in each of the last three years;
	(8)  what  (a) internal and  (b) external training courses were undertaken by Arts Council England staff in each of the last three years;
	(9)  what the  (a) lowest and  (b) highest level of salary is of those staff members working for Arts Council England whose primary role is liaising with the press;
	(10)  how many press officers are employed by Arts Council England at  (a) its head office and  (b) each regional office;
	(11)  how many working days have been lost at Arts Council England due to sickness in each of the last five years;
	(12)  how many staff are employed by Arts Council England; and how many were employed at 1 April in each of the last five years.

Margaret Hodge: The information requested relates to operational matters that are the responsibility of Arts Council England.
	Accordingly, I have asked the chief executive of Arts Council England to write direct to my hon. Friend the Member for West Bromwich, East.
	Copies of the reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Arts Council of England

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  what the size in square feet is of the Arts Council England offices in Birmingham;
	(2)  what the annual rental costs of the Arts Council England offices in Birmingham were in each of the last five years;
	(3)  what the addresses are of each property that Arts Council England  (a) owns and  (b) leases.

Margaret Hodge: The information requested is not held centrally by my Department and is a matter for Arts Council England.
	Accordingly, I have asked the chief executive to write direct to my hon. Friend the Member for West Bromwich, East. Copies of the reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Christmas Trees

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many Christmas trees were purchased by his Department and its agency in each of the last five years; what the cost was of those trees in each year; from where the trees were sourced; what account was taken of the sustainability of the sources of the trees; and by what process the trees were disposed of.

Si�n Simon: The information requested is as follows:
	
		
			  (a) Department for Culture, Media and Sport 
			   Number of trees purchased  Cost (£) 
			 2005 n/a n/a 
			 2006 4 565 
			 2007 3 446 
			 2008 3 559 
			 2009 3 559 
			 n/a = Not available. 
		
	
	The Department's Christmas trees are purchased each year from sustainable sources within the United Kingdom, through its facilities management contractor. The trees are composted after use.
	
		
			  (b) The Royal Parks 
			   Number of trees purchased  Cost (£) 
			 2005 17 1,700 
			 2006 14 1,000 
			 2007 13 1,600 
			 2008 19 1,700 
			 2009 17 1,200 
		
	
	The Royal Parks' Christmas trees are purchased each year from sustainable sources within the United Kingdom, through its nursery contractor. They include those placed in offices, playgrounds, memorial gardens, outside in the parks, in catering outlets and those passed on to other stakeholders. Some of these costs are therefore recharged to contractors. All the trees are disposed of as part of the Royal Parks' green waste recycling scheme.

Departmental Conferences

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much was spent by his Department and its agency on conferences they organised which were subsequently cancelled in each of the last three years; and what the title was of each such conference.

Si�n Simon: The Royal Parks Agency has confirmed it has not cancelled any conferences in the last three years.
	DCMS does not keep a central record of the information requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Fines

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what powers  (a) his Department and  (b) each of its agencies and non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) have to impose administrative penalties; what the statutory basis is for each such power; and how much (i) his Department and (ii) each of its agencies and NDPBs have recovered in administrative penalties in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available.

Si�n Simon: DCMS does not keep a central record of the information requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Public Relations

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what payments the Royal Parks Agency has made to  (a) Cavendish Communications and  (b) Bellenden Public Affairs in each of the last 12 months for which figures are available; for what purpose; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the contracts under which such payments have been made.

Margaret Hodge: The information is as follows:
	 (a) The Royal Parks Agency (TRP) made the payments in the table to Cavendish Communications in each of the last 12 months. The purpose of this work was to design and run a programme of research with key stakeholders to identify and enable improvements to the relationships with partners and improvements to the delivery of services.
	
		
			   Amount (£) 
			  2008  
			 December 3,000 
			   
			  2009  
			 January 3,000 
			 February 3,000 
			 March 3,000 
			 April 3,000 
			 May 3,000 
			 June 3,000 
			 July 3,000 
			 August 3,000 
			 September 0 
			 October 0 
			 November 0 
			  Note: All fees exclude VAT. 
		
	
	 (b) The Royal Parks Agency paid Bellenden Public Affairs £4,600 (including VAT) in 2009, for annual subscription to the publications and activities of the All Party Parliamentary Gardening and Horticulture Group.

Departmental Training

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much  (a) his Department and  (b) its agency spent on away days in the last 12 months; and what the (i) subject and (ii) location of each away day was.

Si�n Simon: The Department and its agency, the Royal Parks, are strongly committed to developing their staff and equipping them with the skills, knowledge and expertise they need to carry out their work. Away days contribute to these objectives.
	Within the Department, away days are arranged by individual teams and details of away days are not centrally recorded. The Department's accounting system does not record expenditure on away days separately from other staff training and developmental costs. To obtain the information requested would therefore incur disproportionate cost.
	The Royal Parks has provided the information set out in the following table.
	
		
			   Subject  Location  Amount (£) 
			 14 May 2009 Staff conference Greenwich 6,420 
			 11 November 2009 Management Board Awayday Government Art Collection, London 5,266 
			 7 December 2009 Park Managers Awayday Forestry Commission, Bedgebury Pinetum 150

Hotels

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many hotel room nights were booked by officials in  (a) his Department and  (b) its agency in each year since 2007; and how much (i) his Department and (ii) its agency spent on the fees of third party agents in booking hotel accommodation in each of those years.

Si�n Simon: All accommodation costs are incurred in accordance with rules set out in the Department's staff guide and are consistent with the Civil Service Management Code.
	Information regarding the number of room nights booked via the Department's agent is listed in the table. However, hotel accommodation booked independently, through individual travel and subsistence claims, is not centrally recorded and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	The Department's agency, The Royal Parks, do not record the number of hotel nights separately and it would incur disproportionate cost to obtain this information.
	Neither the Department nor its agency incurred fees of third party agents.
	
		
			   Number of hotel nights booked via Department's agent 
			 2009 125 
			 2008 239 
			 2007 186

Museums and Galleries: West Bromwich

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on how many occasions a representative of Arts Council England  (a) attended and  (b) sent apologies to a meeting of the board of (i) The Public Building Limited, (ii) The Public Charity and (iii) the Building Sub-Committee of The Public Building Limited between 2003 and 2006.

Margaret Hodge: The information you have requested is not held centrally by the Department and is a matter for Arts Council England.
	Accordingly, I have asked the chief executive to write direct to my hon. Friend the Member for West Bromwich, East. Copies of the reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Museums and Galleries: West Bromwich

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on what dates meetings were held between Arts Council England and Advantage West Midlands to discuss The Public building in West Bromwich between 2003 and 2006.

Margaret Hodge: This is a matter for Arts Council England.
	Accordingly, I have asked the Chief Executive to write direct to my hon. Friend the Member for West Bromwich, East. Copies of the reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

National Lottery: Translation Services

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much funding has been given by  (a) Heritage Lottery Fund and  (b) the Big Lottery Fund to projects to translate information into foreign languages in the last 12 months.

Si�n Simon: The information requested is not held centrally in the manner requested; to provide it would incur disproportionate costs.
	Funding of this nature is usually part of a larger project.

Offenders

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many employees of his Department and its agency have been convicted of a criminal offence of each type in each year since 1997.

Si�n Simon: The number of employees from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), and its agency, the Royal Parks, convicted of a criminal offence since 1997 is zero.

Olympic Games 2012: Culture

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much had been spent in each region on programmes launched as part of the Cultural Olympiad on the latest date for which figures are available.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 14 December 2009
	Many of the Cultural Olympiad initiatives, such as the London 2012 Open Weekends and the projects within the Inspire Mark Programme, operating in the regions are designed, delivered and financed by local organisations rather than by central direction. Therefore, this information is not held centrally.
	Three Major National Projects of the Cultural Olympiad have also been launched: Artists Taking the Lead; Stories of the World and Unlimited have been launched and all will have a strong regional presence. They are in their early stages. Therefore, expenditure figures are not yet available.
	Nevertheless, The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games estimate that over £80 million of private and public money has been allocated to the Cultural Olympiad programmes overall and, of this sum, an estimated £14.49 million has been spent so far around the regions, on cultural projects awarded the Inspire Mark.

Olympic Games: British Overseas Territories

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assistance his Department has provided to Olympics-related sporting projects in  (a) Bermuda,  (b) the British Virgin Islands and  (c) the Cayman Islands in the last five years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: My Department has given no assistance to Olympics-related sporting projects in Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands and the Cayman Islands in the last five years.

Olympic Games: Canada

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which  (a) Ministers and  (b) officials of his Department expect to attend the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver in February in the course of their official duties; for how many days each expects to attend; and what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse in each such case.

Si�n Simon: The Minister for Sport is expected to attend the 2010 Winter Olympic games in Vancouver for four days to represent UK interests. The annual list of all ministerial travel costing over £500, which was last published on the Cabinet Office website in July 2009, includes the cost, destination and purpose of the trip. It also provides information on the number of officials who accompany Ministers.

Party Political Broadcasts

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions his Department has had with Ofcom on its proposals for the number of party political broadcasts allocated to minority parties.

Si�n Simon: Decisions on the allocation of party political broadcasts are a matter for the relevant broadcasters, acting in accordance with the rules established by Ofcom, the BBC Trust and the Welsh Authority, having regard to any views expressed by the Electoral Commission.
	Officials in my Department have had no recent discussions with Ofcom on their rules for party political and referendum broadcasts. However, I understand that Ofcom recently consulted on proposed changes to the rules in this area. Ofcom's new rules will include updated guidance on how the allocation of party election broadcasts to major parties and other registered parties should be determined. Ofcom's intention is to have the revised rules in place ahead of the next general election. However, in the event that a general election is called before new rules are finalised, the existing rules will apply.

Swimming: Nottingham

Graham Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many  (a) under 16 year olds and  (b) over 60 year olds resident in Nottingham North constituency have participated in free swimming through the Swimming Challenge Fund.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The number of unique participants in the Free Swimming Programme is not collected centrally. Local authorities are responsible for collecting data on the number of free swims that have taken place in their area each month. The following table shows the total number of free swims that have taken place under the free swimming scheme by  (a) people aged 16 years and under, and  (b) people aged 60 and over in the east midlands region in a given time period (April to September 2009). This is not a measure of the total number of individual participants taking part in free swimming, as the Department does not hold these figures.
	The Department holds figures by local authority; county and region.
	Accordingly, figures for Nottingham, North are included within those for the east midlands as a whole.
	
		
			  Swims, east midlands region, July to September 2009 
			   Number 
			 Under 16-year-olds 371,628 
			 Over 60 383,275 
		
	
	The Government have commissioned a robust independent evaluation of the Free Swimming Programme which is led by PricewaterhouseCoopers. PricewaterhouseCoopers will draw together a range of data over the coming months to provide an estimate of the number of people that have taken part in free swimming. We expect an evaluation report to be published in summer 2010.

Written Questions: Government Responses

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when he plans to answer Question 301896 on restructuring of Arts Council England, tabled on 26 November 2009.

Margaret Hodge: I will answer the question from the hon. Member for West Bromwich, East shortly.

JUSTICE

Veteran Support

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent steps his Department has taken to support veterans in custody.

Maria Eagle: We have just completed a data matching exercise jointly with the Ministry of Defence (MOD) to identify the number of veterans in custody. The results show that 3 per cent. of the prison population have served in the armed forces. I am currently considering with MOD Ministers what future work needs to be done about offence types and military service to guide future research and policy development.

Clayton  v. Clayton

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice for what reasons the Government plan to reverse the judgment given in Clayton v. Clayton on injunctions.

Bridget Prentice: This new legislation provides a comprehensive solution to the issue of how we increase the transparency of family courts, rather than merely addressing individual issues. Allowing the media to report the detail of family proceedings is being balanced by giving indefinite anonymity to the children and families involved. The legislation includes provisions to allow the courts to lift restrictions around the anonymity of children and families in specific circumstances, provided that it is safe to do so.

Probation Service Funding

Neil Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what plans he has for the future funding of the probation service; and if he will make a statement.

Jack Straw: The budget for 2010-11 for the Probation Service is £870 million. This equates to a reduction of 2.7 per cent. year on year, consistent with the savings expected across public services, but is £26 million more than the original indicative budget.
	Probation areas expect to make the required savings through back-office and management rationalisation and efficiency improvements, protecting front-line services.
	Probation funding has increased since 1997 by 70 per cent. in real terms-a faster rate than the increase in case load and almost twice the growth rate of the Prison Service.

Prisoner Rehabilitation

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what programmes his Department has to rehabilitate prisoners.

Claire Ward: The National Offender Management Service in partnership with statutory, voluntary and Third Sector organisations delivers a broad range of interventions aimed at rehabilitating prisoners and preparing them to live crime free lives.
	There are a number of accredited offending behaviour programmes addressing thinking skills, anger management, domestic and other types of violent crime as well as sexual offending. A range of interventions is available for offenders with an alcohol or drug problem.
	Other interventions with a significant part to play include learning and skills activities and the work done with prisoners to help them get suitable accommodation and employment on release or help them manage their debt.

Prisoner Reoffending

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of programmes to reduce level of prisoner reoffending.

Maria Eagle: Reducing reoffending is one of the key strategic objectives of MOJ. Statistics published in May 2009 show that there was an 11.1 per cent. reduction in the rate of reoffending for adults and 7.5 per cent. for juveniles between 2005 and 2007.

Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent representations he has received on the provisions of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Wills: A number of amendments have been tabled to the Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill for debate on the resumption of Committee stage. We will consider any amendments to the Bill carefully.

Electoral Register

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what his most recent assessment is of the integrity of the electoral register.

Michael Wills: There is no evidence that electoral fraud is a major problem in this country. However, there is never room for complacency. More can be done to enhance the integrity of the register by improving its security, accuracy and comprehensiveness. The phased introduction of individual electoral registration will support these aims.

Prison Chaplains

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many and what proportion of prisons are served by a Church of England chaplain.

Maria Eagle: All prisons are served by a Church of England chaplain other than where there is a vacancy, or in exceptional ad hoc circumstances. Where there is a vacancy, it will ordinarily be the case that there is Church of England cover available to provide weekly services and pastoral care.

Young Offender Institutions

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of young offender institutions in reducing reoffending.

Maria Eagle: The number of reoffences committed by those young people released from custody has been cut by 25.5 per cent. between 2000 and 2007, the latest date for which reoffending rates are available.
	Young offender institutions provide young people with a range of interventions and programmes designed to tackle their offending behaviour and reduce the likelihood of their reoffending.
	The Youth Justice Board is currently in the process of conducting a study entitled Young People, Interventions and the Secure Estate being carried out during 2009-12. It will explore outcomes for young people in each of the three sectors of the under-18 secure estate, including what types of interventions young offender institutions provide and the association between these and positive outcomes.

Legal Aid: Human Trafficking

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the availability of legal aid funding to victims of human trafficking.

Bridget Prentice: Civil legal aid is available to anyone who qualifies, including victims of human trafficking, provided the case is within the scope of the scheme. Each application is assessed on an individual basis to justify the grant of public funding, being subject to statutory tests of the applicant's financial means and the legal merits of the case.

Probation Service Performance

Edward Vaizey: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what plans he has to improve the performance of the probation service.

Maria Eagle: Probation boards and trusts are continuing to perform well and deliver against targets. 40 out of the 42 areas are meeting or exceeding their performance targets compared with 26 nine months ago, with 23 being rated as performing above the required standard. In areas where performance has fallen short of what the public can expect, we have taken decisive action. In London, for example, we appointed a new chief officer who has overseen encouraging improvements in performance.

Dangerous Driving

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people have been convicted of causing death by dangerous driving in  (a) West Yorkshire,  (b) Leeds and  (c) Leeds North West constituency in each of the last five years.

Claire Ward: Information on the number of persons found guilty at all courts in the West Yorkshire police force area for causing death by dangerous driving, from 2003 to 2007 (latest available) is given in the following table.
	Court proceedings data are not available at city or parliamentary constituency level.
	Data for 2008 are planned for publication on 28 January 2010.
	
		
			  The number of persons found guilty at all courts in the West Yorkshire police force area for causing death by dangerous driving( 1) , 2003 to 2007( 2, 3) 
			  Offence  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			 Causing death by dangerous driving 13 12 18 13 9 
			 (1) Road Traffic Act 1988, section 1. (2) The statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services-Ministry of Justice

Departmental Assets

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assets of his Department are planned to be sold in each year from 2009-10 to 2013-14; what the  (a) description and  (b) book value of each such asset is; what the expected revenue from each such sale is; and if he will make a statement.

Jack Straw: The Government have stated their intention to realise £16 billion in asset disposals over the period 2011-14 and will publish further details of opportunities to commercialise business assets in the coming weeks.
	The following table details the asset description and the book value of each asset that the Ministry of Justice has disposed of or plans to dispose of from 2009-10 to 2011-12. The expected revenue is detailed as an annual figure due to the commercial sensitivities attached to the expected revenue of each individual asset.
	Plans for asset disposals in 2012-13 and 2013-14 have yet to be finalised and agreed, and are therefore not included in the list.
	In March 2008, the Ministry of Justice published its asset management strategy, which will be pursued within the financial environment set by the Treasury. MOJ has developed a property asset management plan that will centralise, and significantly enhance, the management of the national and regional administrative estate, and has implemented its estates strategy to ensure the accommodation meets the business needs while providing best value for money.
	
		
			  Ministry of Justice planned disposals 2009-10 to 2011-12 
			   Owner  Asset description  Book value (£000) 
			 2009-10 NOMS Land and building London 484.65 
			 2009-10 NOMS Land and building London 327 
			 2009-10 NOMS Land and building London 390 
			 2009-10 NOMS Land and building Leicester 40 
			 2009-10 NOMS Land and building Norfolk 2 
			 2009-10 NOMS Land and building London 325 
			 2009-10 NOMS Land and building London 298 
			 2009-10 NOMS Land and building London 217 
			 2009-10 NOMS Land and building London 175 
			 2009-10 NOMS . Land and building Norfolk 19.05 
			 2009-10 NOMS Land and building Middlesex 163 
			 2009-10 NOMS Land and building Dorset 140 
			 2009-10 NOMS Land and building West Yorkshire 80 
			 2009-10 NOMS Land and building Middlesex 171 
			 2009-10 NOMS Land and building Shropshire 2 
			 2009-10 NOMS Land and building Shropshire 2 
			 Received revenue for 2009-10: £2,835,700.80  
			 
			 2009-10 HMCS Land and building North Yorkshire 235 
			 2009-10 HMCS Land and building Caernarfon 160 
			 2009-10 HMCS Land and building Salisbury 1,290 
			 Expected revenue 2009-10: £1,289,500.00  
			 
			 2010-11 NOMS Land and building London 73,800 
			 2010-11 NOMS Land and building Middlesex 190 
			 2010-11 NOMS Land and building Durham 105 
			 2010-11 NOMS Land and building Liverpool 170 
			 2010-11 NOMS Land and building Rugby 120 
			 2010-11 NOMS Land and building West Yorkshire 250 
			 2010-11 NOMS Land and building Winchester 505 
			 2010-11 NOMS Land and building Devon 75 
			 2010-11 NOMS Land and building Devon 85 
			 2010-11 NOMS Land and building Devon 85 
			 2010-11 NOMS Land and building Devon 85 
			 2010-11 NOMS Land and building Devon 85 
			 2010-11 NOMS Land and building West Sussex 145 
			 2010-11 NOMS Land and building Dorset 170 
			 2010-11 NOMS Land and building Gloucestershire 550 
			 2010-11 NOMS Land and building Gloucestershire 175 
			 2010-11 NOMS Land and building Gloucestershire 175 
			 2010-11 NOMS Land and building Gloucestershire 105 
			 2010-11 NOMS Land and building Gloucestershire 105 
			 2010-11 NOMS Land and building London 1,500 
			 2010-11 NOMS Land and building London 936 
			 2010-11 NOMS Land and building London 220 
			 2010-11 NOMS Land and building Suffolk 24 
			 2010-11 NOMS Land and building Liverpool 308 
			 2010-11 NOMS Land and building Kent 200 
			 2010-11 NOMS Land and building Gloucestershire 150 
			 2010-11 NOMS Land and building Middlesex 200 
			 2010-11 NOMS Land and building London 300 
			 2010-11 NOMS Land and building Shropshire 2 
			 2010-11 NOMS Land and building London 192 
			 2010-11 NOMS Land and building Yorkshire 385 
			 2010-11 NOMS Land and building Nottinghamshire 92 
			 2010-11 NOMS Land and building Cambridgeshire 140 
			 2010-11 NOMS Land and building Wiltshire 30 
			 2010-11 NOMS Land and building Campsfield 100 
			 2010-11 NOMS Land and building Shropshire 5 
			 2010-11 NOMS Land and building Kent 495 
			 2010-11 NOMS Land and building Dorset 202 
			 2010-11 NOMS Land and building Gloucestershire 1,520 
			 2010-11 NOMS Land and building Monmouthshire 10 
			 2010-11 NOMS Land and building Kent 300 
			 2010-11 NOMS Land and building Derbyshire 25 
			 2010-11 NOMS Land and building Stafford 5 
			 2010-11 NOMS Land and Buildings Birmingham 5 
			 2010-11 NOMS Land and Buildings London 420 
			 2010-11 NOMS Land and Buildings Kent 175 
			 2010-11 NOMS Land and building Wolverhampton 6 
			 2010-11 NOMS Land and building Rugby 828 
			 2010-11 NOMS Land and building Northumberland 30 
			 2010-11 NOMS Land and building Nottinghamshire 50 
			 2010-11 NOMS Land and building Lincolnshire 250 
			 2010-11 NOMS Land and building County Durham 1,500 
			 2010-11 NOMS Land and building Durham 375 
			 2010-11 NOMS Land and building Oxfordshire 5 
			 2010-11 NOMS Land and building Preston 51 
			 2010-11 NOMS Land and building Durham 3,280 
			 Expected revenue for 2010-11: £52,276,000.00  
			 
			 2011-12 NOMS Land and building Staffordshire 25 
			 2011-12 NOMS Land and building Oxfordshire 30 
			 2011-12 NOMS Land and building Staffordshire 50 
			 2011-12 NOMS Land and building Shropshire 5 
			 2011-12 NOMS Land and building Dorset 25 
			 2011-12 NOMS Land and building Staffordshire 25 
			 2011-12 NOMS Land and building Monmouthshire 150 
			 2011-12 NOMS Land and building Suffolk 180 
			 2011-12 NOMS Land and building Liverpool 133 
			 2011-12 NOMS Land and building East Yorkshire 285 
			 2011-12 NOMS Land and building Doncaster 750 
			 2011-12 NOMS Land and building Coltishall 4,000 
			 2011-12 NOMS Land and building Isle of Wight 430 
			 2011-12 NOMS Land and building West Yorkshire 100 
			 2011-12 NOMS Land and building Nottinghamshire 375 
			 2011-12 NOMS Land and building Worcestershire 100 
			 2011-12 NOMS Land and building Cambridgeshire 475 
			 2011-12 NOMS Land and building Buckinghamshire 300 
			 2011-12 NOMS Land and building Wales 3,000 
			 Expected revenue for 2011-12: £10,438,000.00

Departmental Consultants

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many external consultants work for his Department.

Jack Straw: There were 694 consultants working for the Ministry of Justice in the financial year of 2008-09. There will be a manual count of live consultancy contracts which was conducted the week commencing 14 December 2009. Further data of the current live contracts will be available in due course.

Departmental Chief Information Officer

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice on what pay band his Department's Chief Information Officer (CIO) is employed; whether the CIO is employed on a fixed-term or permanent contract; and what the size is of the budget for which the CIO is responsible in the period 2009-10.

Michael Wills: The Department's Chief Information Officer (CIO) is employed on a three-year fixed term contract at senior civil service pay band 2 level, with a salary range of £82,900 to £162,500. He is responsible for a budget of £242 million for 2009-10.

Departmental Sick Leave

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many days of sick leave were taken by staff in his Department and its agencies in each of the last 12 months for which figures are available; and what the cost to his Department was of such sick leave.

Jack Straw: The number of annual working days lost per employee in the 12 months from 1 July 2008 to 30 June 2009 was 9.5 days.
	The Ministry of Justice reports its sick absence on the basis of a 12-month rolling year. These figures are provided by the Ministry's payroll provider. To obtain this information on a monthly basis would require the Ministry to obtain separate reports from payroll which would incur disproportionate cost. We are unable to provide details of the cost of such absence for a similar reason, but I have asked officials for advice as to whether a reliable estimate of the cost of 12 months absence in aggregate could be provided and I will write in due course to the hon. Member.

Departmental Training

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many overseas training courses were attended by his Department's civil servants in the latest period for which figures are available; how many civil servants attended each course; and what the total cost to the public purse was of each course.

Michael Wills: An important part of the personal development of high potential senior civil servants (SCS) are the targeted training programmes provided by the Cabinet Office, some of which involve overseas travel. The Ministry sends a limited number of delegates to two of these programmes (Top Management Programme and Leadership Across Borders Programme). In the past three years, the following numbers of SCS shown in the table have attended:
	
		
			  Financial year  Numbers attending 
			 2007-08 1 
			 2008-09 3 
			 2009-10 3 
		
	
	The total cost of these places for the period April 2007 to November 2009 was £91,950.

Departmental Written Questions

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many and what percentage of parliamentary questions tabled for written answer by his Department on a named day in session 2008-09 received a substantive answer on that day.

Michael Wills: The Ministry of Justice answered 750 named day questions during the 2008-09 session, of which, 482 (64.27 per cent.) were answered substantively on the day named.
	Central guidance on answering parliamentary questions is now available in the 'Guide to Parliamentary Work', at:
	http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/parliamentary-clerk-guide.aspx
	In the response to the Procedure Committee Report on written parliamentary questions, the Government accepted the Committee's recommendation that Departments be required to provide the Procedure Committee with sessional statistics in a standard format on the time taken to respond to written parliamentary questions, accompanied by an explanatory memorandum setting out any factors affecting their performance. This will be taken forward as soon as possible.

National Offender Management Service : Equal Opportunities

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he expects to publish the National Offender Management Service staff diversity report for 2008-09; and what the reasons are for the time taken to publish it.

Maria Eagle: The Staff Diversity Review 2008-09 for the directly employed staff of the National Offender Management Service is expected to be published within NOMS by the end of December 2009. A copy will also be placed on the NOMS website. Unfortunately publication has been delayed because of a communication error in the Department.

Overseas Residence: Crime

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what representations he has received on allowing the Victims Commissioner to work with British citizens who are victims of crime overseas.

Claire Ward: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor (Jack Straw) has not received any representations on allowing the Victims' Commissioner to work with British citizens who are victims of crime overseas.
	The Victims' Commissioner will not undertake individual casework. The Victims' Commissioner will be informed by the experience of victims and make representations regarding the support and services available for victims and witnesses. The role does not exclude learning from the experience of British citizens who are victims of crime overseas and where appropriate making recommendations regarding their needs.

Prisoner: Transfers

Alan Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he expects to publish the report into transfer of prisoners from HM Prison Brixton prior to inspections or security audits.

Maria Eagle: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor informed the House during his oral statement on 20 October 2009,  Official Report, columns 777-83, that if any evidence emerges from the analysis of transfer of prisoners prior to inspection he would update the House.

Probation

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether a decision has been made on the future of the Dyfed Powys Probation Trust office in Brecon, Powys.

Maria Eagle: There are currently no plans to close the Brecon Probation Office.
	An estates review is undertaken annually by Dyfed-Powys Probation Trust as part of its business planning strategy. The next review will occur during the next financial year to ensure resources are provided in the most appropriate locations for offender management purpose.
	The review will also enable the trust to respond to any changes in caseload, and any requirements for specific interventions which are delivered on behalf of courts.

Thinking Skills Programme: Yorkshire

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the outcomes of the Thinking Skills programme in Yorkshire were; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: The Thinking Skills Programme (TSP) was piloted in custody (Lindholme and New Hall and Whealstun-one fixed group each) and in community in Leeds (one group) and York (one group) probation offices. The group at York was a community-run pilot but was attended by women offenders from Askham Grange prison alongside community-based male and female offenders.
	
		
			  TSP community completions from April 2009 to date 
			   Number 
			 West Yorkshire 120 
			 South Yorkshire 50 
			 North Yorkshire 31 
			 Total 201 
		
	
	
		
			  TSP Custody completions from April 2009 to date 
			   Number 
			 HMP Everthorpe 38 
			 HMP Hull 61 
			 HMP Lindholme 58 
			 HMP Moorland 9 
			 HMP New Hall 34 
			 HMP Wealstun 29 
			 HMP Wolds 19 
			 Total 248 
		
	
	NOMS has conducted two reviews of the Thinking Skills Programme pilots:
	 1. A Qualitative Evaluation of the New Cognitive Skills Programme Pilots (August 2008)
	This was an internal review which has helped inform the development of the programme and its implementation.
	 2. Gender responsivity and the new Thinking Skills Programme (September 2009)
	A qualitative evaluation of the thinking skills pilots with female offenders which was undertaken to understand women's experience of the Thinking Skills Programme. This showed that the TSP was relevant to the women who participated on the programme, helping them to address their behaviour and bring about change. Recommendations from the evaluation are being incorporated into TSP and will inform its implementation.

Young Offenders: Convictions

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what percentage of young offenders under the age of 18 years who appeared in court in  (a) England and  (b) Milton Keynes was convicted in each year since 1997.

Claire Ward: The number of persons aged 10 to 17-years proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty of criminal offences at all courts in England and the Thames Valley police force area, from 1997 to 2007 (latest available) is given in the following table.
	Court proceedings data are not available at town or local authority area level. Therefore data are included in the table for the Thames Valley police force area.
	Data for 2008 are planned for publication on 28 January 2010.
	
		
			  Table 1: Number of persons aged 10 to 17-years proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts for all offences, England 1997 to 2007( 1, 2) 
			   Proceeded against  Found guilty  Conviction rate (percentage)( 3) 
			 1997 113,645 73,707 65 
			 1998 121,848 80,608 66 
			 1999 126,199 84,199 67 
			 2000 132,456 85,568 65 
			 2001 140,489 89,369 64 
			 2002 136,881 88,477 65 
			 2003 131,581 86,572 66 
			 2004 127,710 90,174 71 
			 2005 123,835 90,560 73 
			 2006 119,123 88,520 74 
			 2007 119,986 92,543 77 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Number of persons aged 10 to 17-years proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts for all offences, Thames Valley police force area 1997 to2007( 1, 2) 
			   Proceeded against  Found guilty  Conviction rate (percentage)( 3) 
			 1997 2,874 1,778 62 
			 1998 2,878 1,764 61 
			 1999 2,937 1,764 60 
			 2000 3,355 2,156 64 
			 2001 4,049 2,542 63 
			 2002 3,770 2,437 65 
			 2003 3,446 2,168 63 
			 2004 2,899 1,986 69 
			 2005 3,838 2,694 70 
			 2006 3,689 2,665 72 
			 2007 3,540 2,704 76 
			 (1) The statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (3) Proportion proceeded against who were found guilty.  Source:  Justice Statistics Analytical Services-Ministry of Justice.

Young Offenders: Foster Care

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 8 December 2009,  Official Report, columns 279-80W, on young offenders: foster care, what the reasons are for the time taken to complete the peer review process.

Maria Eagle: It is usual for a robust peer review process to take some time. The Youth Justice Board received the first draft of the Final Intensive Fostering Evaluation report in December 2008, with a further chapter on costs submitted at the end of January 2009. Following comments from the Youth Justice Board a revised version was received from researchers in April and sent out to peer review in June 2009. Researchers considered comments from peer review, and submitted revised text in October; further comments and questions are currently being considered and resolved. The final evaluation report is expected to be published in the first quarter of 2010.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Agriculture

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what guidance relating to compliance with regulations his Department and its agencies have issued to farmers in the last 12 months.

Huw Irranca-Davies: Guidance on compliance with regulation, of interest to all farmers, was provided in Protecting Our Water, Soil and Air: A Code of Good Agricultural Practice for Farmers, Growers and Land Managers, published in January 2009. This guidance brought together and updated three codes for water, soil and air. Information on the Single Payment Scheme and other direct payments is updated and sent annually to farmers.
	Other guidance may be intended for specific farming interests. In response to the Sarah Anderson report on Guidance (published in January 2009), DEFRA is identifying its most frequently used guidance on compliance with regulations, much of which applies to farmers, and by 21 December 2009 will publish on the DEFRA website a list of the most frequently used guidance, together with information on when that guidance will be reviewed to bring it in line with Code of Practice on Guidance on Regulation. The Code of Practice was revised in October 2009 to include recommendations from the Anderson review.

Agriculture: EU Law

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of farms are required under EU regulations to be inspected for cross compliance; and what proportion of farms were inspected for cross compliance in each of the last five years.

Huw Irranca-Davies: Each Competent Control Authority is required by European legislation to inspect at least 1 per cent. of farmers receiving payments that are conditional on meeting the cross compliance requirements.
	The legislation specifies that member states can use pre-existing inspection regimes to satisfy the above requirements. The Rural Payments Agency is required to inspect 5 per cent. (formerly 10 per cent.) of cattle keepers in respect of cattle identification and 3 per cent. of sheep keepers in respect of sheep identification.
	The legislation also requires increased inspection control rates following significant non-compliance findings. Rates have duly been increased in some cross compliance areas.
	The following table shows the proportion of farms inspected in each of the last five years.
	
		
			  Percentage 
			   2005  2006  2007  2008  2009 
			 Rural Payments Agency 0.20 1.5 1 1 1 
			 Environment Agency n/a 1 1 1 1 
			 Animal Health n/a n/a 1 1.25 1.25 
			 Veterinary Medicines Directorate n/a 1 1 1 1 
			 Cattle Identification 10 10.5 10 10 6.1 
			 Sheep Identification 0.20 1.5 3 3 3.25 
			  Source:  Rural Payments Agency Cross Compliance Database.

Agriculture: Subsidies

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many representations he has received in respect of procedures used by the Rural Payments Agency in mapping individual farms for the purposes of the Single Payment scheme in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement.

Dan Norris: The number of representations received by Ministers in respect of mapping issues relating to the single payment scheme (SPS) in each of the last three years are shown in the following table.
	
		
			  SPS scheme year  Number of representations 
			 2007 20 
			 2008 9 
			 2009 18

Agriculture: Subsidies

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the  (a) smallest and  (b) largest penalty for cross-compliance is that has been applied to a payment under the Single Payment scheme in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Dan Norris: The figures in the following table represent the smallest and largest payment reductions in monetary terms that the Rural Payments Agency has applied to Single Payment Scheme (SPS) claims in England following breaches of the cross-compliance requirements in the years 2005-08. We do not have a comprehensive set of data for 2009 as processing checks and inspections are not yet complete.
	
		
			  £ 
			  SPS scheme year  Smallest penalty imposed  Largest penalty imposed 
			 2005 0.13 20,819.92 
			 2006 0.18 105,263.17 
			 2007 0.63 65,229.52 
			 2008 0.64 55,797.46 
		
	
	The smallest 'penalty imposed figures' reflect the fact that under the European legislation governing cross-compliance percentage reductions as low as 1 per cent. may be applied to SPS payments in certain circumstances.
	Further details regarding cross-compliance payment reductions can be found on the RPA website at:
	www.rpa.gov.uk

Animal Welfare

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his European counterparts on enforcing minimum standards of animal welfare for animals moved between different countries in Europe.

Dan Norris: The Secretary of State raised the need for improved enforcement of welfare in transport rules across Europe at the Agriculture Council on 7 September 2009.

Bees

Richard Benyon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he is taking to encourage the British Beekeepers' Association to participate in the Project Board charged with implementing the Food and Environment Research Agency's Healthy Bees Plan.

Dan Norris: The chief executive of the Food and Environment Research Agency (Fera) has been in dialogue with the president of the British Beekeepers' Association (BBKA), about the Association's decision to withdraw from the Healthy Bees Plan's Project Management Board (the Board). This board represents a wide range of interests which is essential in order to explore solutions to the complex problems affecting pollinators. While both the Board and Fera have expressed their disappointment at the BBKA's decision to withdraw, a clear signal has been given to the Association that it is hoped they will all continue to work together on bee health issues and that the BBKA will rejoin the board at some point in the future.
	Lord Davies and Fera have also recently met the BBKA to discuss how this may be taken forward. Subsequently Lord Davies has written to the BBKA with a series of proposals covering matters within DEFRA's control as to how BBKA might re-engage with the board and the range of stakeholders who have an interest in bee health who are represented there.
	Meanwhile, Fera continues to work with the BBKA at a number of levels and is working with it to develop the relationship, and has appointed one of its top scientists to lead on this role.

Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many cattle were slaughtered because of bovine tuberculosis precautions in  (a) Lancashire and  (b) the north west in each of the last six months.

Huw Irranca-Davies: As data from Vetnet are produced three months in arrears, figures cannot be provided for the last three months. The following table shows the number of animals slaughtered(1 )due to a TB incident in Lancashire and the north-west in the last six months for which figures are available(2) (up to August 2009).
	(1) Animals slaughtered include those slaughtered as reactors (including inconclusive reactors x 3 and gamma interferon positive reactors), inconclusive reactors and direct contacts in the year to date due to a confirmed, unconfirmed or unclassified TB incident.
	(2) Data from Vetnet are provisional and subject to change as more data become available.
	
		
			  2009  Lancashire  North-west (Government office region)( 1) 
			 March 3 67 
			 April 1 69 
			 May 2 22 
			 June 1 12 
			 July 0 123 
			 August 6 58 
			 (1 )The north-west Government office region includes: Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside.   Source:  Vetnet.

Cattle

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the number of records relating to cows born in the UK that have been lost since September 2008; and if he will make a statement.

Dan Norris: There are currently 8,768,528 cattle registered on the Cattle Tracing System. From 1 September 2008, 12,638 of these have been reported as being lost or not traced for reasons such as alleged theft. In addition to these, there are 25,289 cattle whose final destination is presently unreported. This is because the British Cattle Movement Service has received notification that the animal has left the holding but has not yet received the subsequent movement report on to the next holding.

Chasewater Reservoir

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  whether  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies plan to provide financial assistance to Lichfield district council to meet its statutory obligations for the repair and maintenance in the earth embankment retaining the Chasewater Reservoir; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  if he will undertake an assessment of the effect on the local environment if the earth embankment constructed to retain the Chasewater Reservoir in Lichfield district were to be breached; and if he will make a statement.

Huw Irranca-Davies: While DEFRA has overall policy responsibility for reservoir safety, the Department is unable to intervene in individual cases.
	The Environment Agency is the enforcement authority for the Reservoirs Act 1975 in England and Wales. I understand that the Environment Agency has no plans to provide financial assistance to Lichfield district council to repair and maintain Chasewater Reservoir.
	As part of the Government's response to the Pitt Review of the summer 2007 floods, the Environment Agency has prepared inundation maps for all large, raised reservoirs. As part of this exercise, it has prepared a map showing the area that would be inundated in Lichfield district in the event of an unplanned breach of the embankment. Details of the outline breach assessment have been supplied to Lichfield district council, the registered owners of the reservoir. We understand that Lichfield district council has also carried out a further detailed breach inundation study.

Christmas Trees

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many Christmas trees were purchased by his Department and its agencies in each of the last five years; what the cost was of those trees in each year; from where the trees were sourced; what account was taken of the sustainability of the sources of the trees; and by what process the trees were disposed of.

Dan Norris: Historic information giving the expenditure on Christmas trees by DEFRA and its agencies, from where the trees were sourced, what account was taken of the sustainability of the sources of the trees and the disposal process is outlined as follows.
	Information shown is the actual expenditure incurred by DEFRA on Christmas trees by the facilities management partners employed at that time. Historic information held shows that trees were grown in nurseries and taken from site to either be re-cycled or allowed to decay naturally on composting facilities.
	Identifying expenditure incurred in 2004-05 could only be achieved at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  £ 
			  Organisation  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			 Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) - (1)5,240 (2)5,239 (2)6,015 (3)0 
			 (1 )Seven trees. (2) Eight trees. (3) Tree donated. 
		
	
	Information given as follows is the expenditure incurred by each individual Agency over the last five years met from local budgets.
	
		
			  £ 
			   2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			 Veterinary Laboratory Agency (VLA) 0 0 0 0 1,000 
			  Note: Christmas tree sourced in 2008 was from the British Tree Growers Association of Sustainable Standards. It was disposed of using on site waste management plant. 
		
	
	
		
			  £ 
			   2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			 Rural Payments Agency (RPA) 0 0 0 0 0 
			  Note: RPA have not purchased any Christmas trees over the last five years. 
		
	
	
		
			  £ 
			   2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			 Centre for Environment, Fisheries, Aquaculture Science (CEFAS) 40.00 40.00 45.00 45.00 45.00 
			  Note: All Christmas trees were sourced locally. Trees were re-cycled by external waste management contractor. 
		
	
	
		
			  £ 
			   2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			 Veterinary Medial Directorate (VMD) 0 40.00 45.00 40.00 55.00 
			  Note: All Christmas trees were sourced locally and disposed using the on-site waste management plant. 
		
	
	
		
			  £ 
			   2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			 Animal Health 0 0 0 0 0 
			  Note: Animal Health have not purchased any Christmas trees over the last five years. 
		
	
	
		
			  £ 
			   2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			 Food and Environment Research Agency (FERA) 0 0 342.00 0 0 
			  Note: FERA was formerly the Central Science Laboratory (CSL). CSL employed an external facilities management service contractor who supplied a Christmas tree each year (excluding 2006) as part of the service. All Christmas trees were sourced locally and disposed of using the on-site shredder.

Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000

John Grogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much land has been designated under section 16 of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 since 1 January 2009; how much such land has been designated for the use of  (a) walkers,  (b) cyclists,  (c) horse riders and  (d) other equestrians; and at what locations land has been so designated.

Huw Irranca-Davies: Since 1 January 2009 there have been three section 16 dedications, a total of 631 hectares. All of these have been for walkers only. No land has been dedicated for the use of cyclists, horse riders or other equestrian pursuits.
	Locations of the section 16 dedications are as follows:
	
		
			   Hectares 
			 West Wood near Hereford 164 
			 Wharncliffe near Sheffield 410 
			 High House Waste near Ivybridge, Devon (1)57 
			 (1) Of which only five hectares was land not already mapped as Countryside and Rights of Way access land. 
		
	
	These dedications will be displayed on the Countryside and Rights of Way access maps when the updated maps are published on Natural England's website in January 2010.

Dairy Farming: Lancashire

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the change in the number of dairy farmers in  (a) Chorley and  (b) Lancashire between (i) 2008 and 2009 and (ii) 2009-10.

Huw Irranca-Davies: The grid referencing of the 2009 data is not yet complete so the latest information available is for 2008. This is shown in the following table, along with a comparison to 2007 to show the annual change.
	In the UK, the trend in dairy production is towards fewer, larger and more productive herds.
	
		
			   2007  2008   2007  2008  
			   Number of dairy holdings( 1)  Percentage change 2008-07  Number of farmers on dairy holdings( 2)  Percentage change 2008-07 
			 Chorley 42 41 -2 90 91 1 
			 Lancashire(3) 717 675 -6 1,531 1,477 -4 
			 (1) Dairy holdings are defined here as the number of holdings on the Cattle Tracing System on 1 June each year with more than 10 dairy cows in the milking herd.  (2) The number of farmers is defined as full and part-time farmers, partners, directors and spouses if working on the holding.  (3) Lancashire is defined as Blackburn, Blackpool and Lancashire county council.

Departmental Advertising

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies have spent on advertising in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

Dan Norris: Since the beginning of the current financial year DEFRA has spent around £2 million on campaign advertising through COI. This was primarily on campaigns for conservation volunteering, water saving and resource efficiency. A further £23,841.12 was spent on advertising vacancies within the same time period.
	Detailed spend on advertising by DEFRA agencies is not held centrally and could be collated only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Buildings

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  how many residential properties his Department owns; and how many  (a) are occupied and  (b) have been empty for more than six months;
	(2)  how many residential properties his Department owns; and how many  (a) are occupied and  (b) have been empty for more than six months.

Dan Norris: holding answer 3 December 2009
	The Department owns 38 residential properties of which  (a) 36 are occupied and  (b) two are vacant and have been vacant for more than six months.

Departmental Conferences

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many  (a) away days and  (b) conferences that took place outside his Department's building attended by civil servants in his Department there have been since 2005; and what the cost was of each.

Dan Norris: The Department uses structured away days to enable staff to develop the skills and policies needed to deliver the Department's objectives. We also run conferences on specific issues and send delegates to other organisations' conferences whose work is relevant to our own.
	Statistics on away days and conferences are not collated centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Manpower

Crispin Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many staff of his Department were in its redeployment pool on 1  (a) January,  (b) April,  (c) July and  (d) October 2009.

Dan Norris: On 1 January 2009 seven DEFRA employees were recorded on the Department's redeployment register, seven employees were recorded on 1 April 2009, 16 were recorded on 1 July 2009 and 10 employees were recorded on 1 October 2009.

Departmental Pay

John Mason: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what  (a) bonuses and  (b) incentives have been paid to (i) consultants and (ii) contractors engaged by executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies for which his Department is responsible in each of the last three years.

Dan Norris: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Any bonuses and incentives paid to consultants and contractors would be subject to the provisions of managing public money.

Departmental Public Relations

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what payments the Environment Agency has made to  (a) Four Communications and  (b) Bellenden Public Affairs in the last 12 months; for what purposes; and if he will place in the Library a copy of each contract under which such payments were made.

Dan Norris: The Environment Agency has spent £5,000 in the last 12 months with Four Communications. This was to provide an understanding of the potential for new media in helping to engage with stakeholders on water and pollution issues. It has spent £27,471 with Bellenden Public Affairs for the provision of training and support for its engagement with local authorities on climate change issues.
	The Environment Agency will place copies of contracts in the Library subject to supplier consent.

Departmental Publicity

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much his Department has spent on  (a) Ministerial photoshoots and  (b) production of videos in which Ministers appear in the last three years for which figures are available.

Dan Norris: Since the beginning of the current financial year we have spent around £850 on ministerial photoshoots and just under £20,000 on the production of videos in which Ministers appear. A comparable amount was spent in 2008-09. We do not hold a record for 2007-08.
	These funds are generally used when filming ministerial speeches to play at conferences or other live events which they cannot attend due to diary or other logistical reasons.

Departmental Telephone Services

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many telephone lines with the prefix  (a) 0870,  (b) 0845 and  (c) 0800 his Department (i) operates and (ii) sponsors; how many calls were received to each number in the last 12 months; and whether alternative numbers charged at the BT local rate are available in each case.

Dan Norris: DEFRA operates one comprehensive helpline, the DEFRA Helpline, which has a prefix of 0845. DEFRA receives no income from this helpline.
	The DEFRA Helpline has received 77,385 calls during the period 1 November 2008 to 30 November 2009.
	Some callers may attract the BT local rate. Charges vary depending on callers' service providers, where and when they are calling from, the package the caller may be subscribed to and whether they are using a mobile.
	The Cabinet Office, through the Contact Council, is currently developing a numbering strategy. This will cover a range of issues related to public sector numbering, including providing greater transparency and value for money for service users. In the meantime, the Council issued a Clarification Statement on Telephone Number Ranges.

Departmental Training

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many overseas training courses were attended by his Department's civil servants in the latest period for which figures are available; how many civil servants attended each course; and what the total cost to the public purse was of each course.

Dan Norris: Within DEFRA, training courses overseas are authorised locally by individual project managers with budgetary responsibility.
	To collate such data at departmental level would incur disproportionate cost in excess of £750.

Domestic Waste: Waste Disposal

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether his Department has made an assessment of the visual effect of wheeled refuse containers street scene and street clutter.

Dan Norris: No such assessment has been carried out by DEFRA.

Elephants: Conservation

Richard Benyon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much money his Department has spent on the conservation of African elephants in each country in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Huw Irranca-Davies: This Department has contributed the following funds towards African elephant conservation over the past five years:
	
		
			  Financial year  Initiative  Amount (£) 
			 2005-06 Elephant Trade Information System (ETIS)(1) 32,000 
			  International Union for Conservation of Nature/Special Survival Commission's African Elephant Specialist Group (IUCN/SSC)(2) 30,000 
			  Monitoring the Illegal Killing of Elephants (MIKE)(1) 50,035 
			  Environmental Investigation Agency's ivory enforcement training workshops in Malawi and Zambia 20,035 
			
			 2006-07 IUCN/SSC African Elephant Specialist Group 75,000 
			  MIKE 30,000 
			  ETIS 42,200 
			  Darwin Initiative project: capacity building to alleviate human-elephant conflict in Kenya 68,355 
			
			 2007-08 7th Dialogue Meeting of African Elephant Range States 10,000 
			  ETIS 30,000 
			  IUCN/SSC African Elephant Specialist Group 30,000 
			  Darwin Initiative project: capacity building to alleviate human-elephant conflict in Kenya 73,700 
			
			 2008-09 MIKE/ETIS 45,000 
			  Darwin Initiative project: capacity building to alleviate human-elephant conflict in Kenya 79,603 
			
			 2009-10 MIKE/ETIS 45,000 
			  Darwin Initiative project: capacity building to alleviate human-elephant conflict in North Kenya 39,251 
			  Darwin Initiative project: Enhancing ETIS to guide Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES)policy 32,071 
			  Total 732,250 
			 (1) MIKE and ETIS are monitoring tools used by Parties to CITES to track illegal activities involving elephants. (2) The IUCN/SSC's African Elephant Specialist Group is a group of experts whose aim is to promote the long-term conservation of Africa's elephants and, where possible, the recovery of their populations to viable levels. 
		
	
	Except where detailed above, DEFRA'S funding has not been country-specific.
	In addition to these amounts, DEFRA has spent over half a million pounds on projects during the past five years which may indirectly benefit the African elephant.

Farms: Inspections

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs with reference to the answer of 15 October 2009,  Official Report, column 1004W, on farm inspections, against which regulations compliance is monitored by each inspection body.

Huw Irranca-Davies: The information is as follow:
	 Rural Payments Agency
	(Basic Conditions) Regulations 1997 (SI 1997/189):
	Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979
	Animal Health Act 1981
	Cattle Identification Regulations 2007 (SI 2007/529)
	Commission Regulation (EC) No. 509/1999
	Commission Regulation (EC) No. 2772/95
	Commission regulation (EC) No. 911/2004
	Conservation (Natural Habitats, c.) Regulations 1994 (SI 1994 2716)
	Conservation (Natural Habitats, c.) Regulations 1994 (SI 1994/2716)
	Control of Pesticides Regulations 1986 (SI 1986/1510):
	Council Directive 2000/75/EC
	Council Directive 2003/85/EC
	Council Directive 79/409/EEC
	Council Directive 80/68/EEC
	Council Directive 86/278/EEC
	Council Directive 91/414/EEC
	Council Directive 91/629/EEC
	Council Directive 91/630/EEC
	Council Directive 91/676/EEC
	Council Directive 92/102/EEC
	Council Directive 92/119/EEC
	Council Directive 92/43/EEC
	Council Directive 96/22/ EC
	Council Directive 98/58/EC of 20 July 1998
	Council Regulation (EC) No. 1257/1999
	Council Regulation,(EC) No. 1698/2005
	Council Regulation (EC) No. 1968/2005 (OJ No. L 277, 21.10.2005, p. 1)
	Council Regulation (EC) No. 1968/2005 (OJ No. L 277, 21.10.2005, p. 1)
	Council Regulation (EC) No. 2078/92
	Council Regulation (EC) No. 21/2004
	Council Regulation (EC) No. 473/2009 (OJ No. L 144, 9.6.2009, p. 8)
	Council Regulation (EC) No. 473/2009 (OJ No. L 144, 9.6.2009, p. 8)
	Countryside Act 1968
	)
	Energy Crops Regulations 2000
	Entry Level Agri-Environment Scheme (Pilot) (England) Regulations 2003
	Environmental Impact Assessment (England)(No. 2) Regulations 2006
	Environmental Impact Assessment (Forestry) (England and Wales) Regulations 1999
	Environmental Protection Act 1990
	Feed (Hygiene and Enforcement) (England) Regulations 2005 (SI 2005/3280)
	Food Hygiene (England) Regulations 2006 (SI 2006/14)
	Forestry Act 1967
	Game Act 1831
	General Food Regulations 2004 (SI 2004/3279)
	)
	Hedgerows Regulations 1997
	Highways Act 1980
	Mutilations (Permitted Procedures) (England) Regulations 2007 (SI 2007/1100)
	National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949
	Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006
	Nitrate Pollution Prevention Regulations 2008 (SI 2349/2008)
	Pigs (Records, Identification and Movement) Order 2007 (SI 2007/642):
	Plant Protection Products Regulations 2005 (SI 2005/1435):
	Regulation (EC) No. 1760/2000
	Regulation (EC) No. 178/2002
	Regulation (EC) No. 183/2005
	Regulation (EC) No. 396/05
	Regulation (EC) No. 852/2004
	Regulation (EC) No. 853/2004
	Regulation (EEC) No. 2377/90
	Regulation 178/2002
	Regulation 83/2005
	Regulation 852/2004
	Regulation 999/2001
	SI 2000/3042
	SI 2003/838
	SI 2005/3459
	SI 2007/2003
	SI 2007/3154
	SI 2007/3304
	SI 2008/962-the Bluetongue Regulations 2008
	SI 853/2004
	The African Swine Fever (England) Order 2003 (SI 2003/2913):
	The Animals and Animal Products (Examination for Residues and Maximum Residue Limits) Regulations 1997 (SI 1997/1729:
	The Bluetongue (No. 2) Order 2007 (SI 2007/3304)
	The Cattle Plague Order 1928 (1928 No. 206)
	The Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2007 (SI 2007/3538)
	The Environmental Protection Act 1990 (waste management licences)
	The Foot and Mouth Disease (England) Order 2006 (2006/182):
	The Groundwater Regulations 1998 (SI 1998/2746)
	The Sheep and Goats (Records, Identification and Movement) (England) Order 2007 (SI 2007/3493) supplements the EC Regulation, and the provisions relating to animal identification and on-farm records apply for cross compliance purposes
	The Sludge (Use in Agriculture) Regulations 1989 (SI 1989/1263)
	The Specified Diseases (Notification) Order 1996 (SI 1996/2628):
	The Swine Vesicular Disease Order 1972 (SI 1972/1980):
	The Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies (England) Regulations 2008 (SI 2008/1881):
	The Veterinary Medicines Regulations 2007 (SI 2007/2539):
	The Water Resources Act 1991
	The Welfare of Farmed Animals (England) Regulations 2007 (SI 2007/2078)
	Town and Country Planning Act 1990
	Weeds Act 1959
	Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981
	Council Regulation (EC) No. 73/2009
	Commission Regulation (EC) No. 796/2004
	 Veterinary Medicine Directorate
	The Veterinary Medicines Regulations 2009 (these regulations were first made in 2005 and are revoked and remade annually)
	The Animals and Animal Products (Examination for Residues and Maximum Residue Limits) Regulations 1997
	 Animal Health
	Animal Health Act 1981
	Animal Health Act 2002
	Animal Welfare Act 2006
	Animal Health and Welfare Act 1984
	Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006
	Tuberculosis (England) Order 2007
	Tuberculosis (Scotland) Order 2007
	Tuberculosis (Wales) Order 2006
	Tuberculosis (Testing and Powers of Entry) (Wales) Order 2008
	Tuberculosis (Deer) Order 1989
	Tuberculosis (Deer) Notice of Intended Slaughter and Compensation Order 1989
	Welfare of Animals (Slaughter and Killing) Regulations 1995
	Welfare of Animals (Transport) (Scotland) Order 2006
	Welfare of Farmed Animals (England) Regulations 2007
	Welfare of Farmed Animals (Scotland) Regulations 2000
	Welfare of Farmed Animals (Wales) Regulations 2007
	Veterinary Medicines Regulations 2009
	The Animals and Animal Products (Examination for Residues and Maximum Residue Limits) Regulations 1997 as amended
	 Environment Agency
	The Environment Agency monitors regulatory compliance on farms using integrated visits. During farm visits EA officers assess Land Managers compliance against relevant regulations under the following regime.
	Nitrate Vulnerable Zones (Nitrates Directive)
	Environmental Permitting Regulations (EPR) (Waste and Integrated Pollution Prevention Directives)
	Exemptions from EPR Waste regulation including land-spreading
	Hazardous Waste Regulations
	Groundwater Regulations (Groundwater Daughter Directive)
	Silage, Slurry and Agricultural Fuel Oil Regulations
	Sewage Sludge Regulations
	Water Resources Act (Abstraction licensing, Consent to Discharge, avoiding pollution)
	Land Drainage Act
	Reservoirs Act

Flood Control: Finance

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what funding his Department allocated to  (a) regional development agencies and  (b) other bodies following the flooding in summer 2007 for flood prevention works; how much funding has been provided to each such body; and what criteria apply in respect of qualification for such funds.

Huw Irranca-Davies: Regional development agencies (RDAs) are financed through a single budget, a fund which pools money from all the contributing Government Departments. From this single pot, RDAs provided over £11 million support for the businesses affected in their regions, as part of the wider £136 million that Government made available to assist the affected regions and help those in greatest need. This includes funding for schools, transport and businesses. No specific funding was given to RDAs in respect of the 2007 floods.
	Spending on flood risk management across central and local government has increased from £307 million in 1996-97 to over £655 million in 2008-09, and is due to reach £715 million in 2009-10 and £780 million in 2010-11. This will bring the total spent by DEFRA, the Environment Agency and local authorities over three years to £2.15 billion. £20 million of the original £800 million for 2010-11 was brought forward into this year's budgets as part of the fiscal stimulation package announced in the 2008 pre-Budget report.
	Since the 2007 floods, DEFRA has given funding to a considerable number of bodies to plan for and reduce the risk of flooding and its impacts and ensure that communities and the essential services which supply them are protected. The sums outlined as follows represent the most significant of these funding allocations.
	The majority of the funding is through the Environment Agency which allocates funding to regional flood defence committees for both new capital schemes and to maintain existing defences on the basis of national priorities to ensure that the funding is spent in the best way possible. Delivery is managed through the Environment Agency's regional offices.
	The allocation to Environment Agency regions was £495.3 million in 2008-09 and £548.6 million in 2009-10.
	In April 2006 the Environment Agency took on responsibility for the administration of capital grants payable to local authorities and internal drainage boards under delegation from DEFRA for all schemes promoted under the Land Drainage Act and for schemes under the Coast Protection Act from April 2008. In 2008-09 and 2009-10 £64 million was allocated in each year for projects delivered by these bodies.
	£1 million has been made available to the Environment Agency to manage the intake of local authority trainees in September 2009 and to finance the trainees on the two-year Environment Agency Flood and Coastal Risk Engineering Foundation Degree. A further £175,000 has been made available to fund an intake of local authority trainees in September 2010.
	As noted in annex A of the Progress Report (published 15 December 2009) on the Government's Response to Sir Michael Pitt's Review of the summer 2007 floods, £34.5 million is being allocated by DEFRA to delivery organisations to help cover the additional costs of taking forward the recommendations they are responsible for.
	The following table shows how much has been allocated to date. It shows that a total of £20.2 million has been allocated to individual agencies and bodies by DEFRA so far.
	
		
			  Allocation to:  Allocation  Allocated by December 2009  To deliver: 
			 Local authorities £15 million £10 million between 80 local authorities Local authority leadership on flood risk management in the highest priority areas, including surface water management plans, tackling surface water problems, mapping of drainage assets, and oversight and maintenance of sustainable drainage systems for new housing, etc. 
			 Environment Agency and Met Office £5.0 million £3.76 million A new joint forecasting and warning centre, including the extreme rainfall alert. 
			 Environment Agency £8.5 million £5 million All other recommendations where the Environment Agency leads, including its new strategic overview of all types of flood risk in England, better modelling, forecasting and mapping for flooding particularly surface water, roll-out of ex-directory flood warnings, reservoir inundation maps, and a national flooding exercise to test the new response arrangements. 
			 Met Office £0.5 million £230,000 Research to make use of new detailed forecasting models for flooding. 
			 Cabinet Office £0.4 million £0.2 million New team within the Civil Contingencies Secretariat to run a national campaign to improve the resilience of critical national infrastructure. 
			 Others £10,000 £10,000 To fund the Risk and Regulatory Advisory Council to consider the communication of flood risk to the public. 
			 Contingency £5.1 million £1.0 million To provide a contingency fund in case allocations need to be increased in some areas, and to include: up to £2 million for an improved flood rescue capability; up to £1.25 million to support the production of reservoir emergency plans by local resilience forums. Funds have also been provided to the following additional activities announced since the Government's response: £750,000 to support local authority flood risk management apprenticeships this year and next. A further £250,000 is being funded from other budgets. £140,000 to fund a reservoir inundation mapping tool. 
			 Total £34.5 million £20.2 million - 
			  Source: Annex A of the Progress Report on the Government's Response to Sir Michael Pitt's Review (published 15 December 2009). 
		
	
	The breakdown of the major funding schemes originating from Pitt Review recommendations and the criteria that apply for qualifying bodies are reproduced as follows:
	 1. Property level grant scheme
	Local authorities allocated grants from the first round of the £5.5 million property level grant scheme (announced in June 2009 by the Secretary of State) amounted to £3 million. As yet, no claims for grant have been made against these allocations. Table 1 shows the geographical breakdown of recipients.
	
		
			  Table 1: Local authority recipients of property level grant scheme funding 
			  Local authority  Environment Agency region  Awarded (£) 
			 Ribble Valley BC North West 119,700 
			 Rossendale BC North West 3,000 
			 Wigan Council North West 83,500 
			 Vale Royal BC North West 15,000 
			 Leeds City Council North East 131,100 
			 Wakefield MDC North East 85,500 
			 Newcastle City Council North East 216,600 
			 Wychavon DC Midlands 121,000 
			 Birmingham City Council Midlands 153,900 
			 South Derbyshire DC Midlands 33,511 
			 Aylesbury Vale DC Anglian 325,000 
			 Milton Keynes Council Anglian 39,900 
			 Uttlesford DC Anglian 79,800 
			 Oxford City Council Thames 119,700 
			 West Oxfordshire DC Thames 171,000 
			 Vale of White Horse DC Thames 51,300 
			 Wokingham DC Thames 114,000 
			 Lewes DC Southern 282,000 
			 Somerset CC South West 267,900 
			 East Devon DC South West 96,900 
			 Gloucester CC Midlands 68,400 
			 Doncaster CC North East 108,000 
			 Gloucester CC and Tewkesbury BC Midlands 119,000 
			 Lincolnshire CC Anglian 96,900 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire Council North East 108,000 
			 Total  3,010,611 
		
	
	The basic criteria for the scheme is based on property type and the frequency and type of flooding. The full guidance for the scheme can be found at:
	www.defra.gov.uk/environment/flooding/documents/manage/floodgrantguidance.pdf
	 2. Surface wafer management
	On 18 August the Secretary of State announced £16 million funding to help local authorities tackle surface water flooding.
	£9.7 million was been awarded to 77 local authorities for areas where evidence shows that the risk and potential impact of surface water flooding could be highest. Local authorities for all other areas will also be able to bid for a share of £5 million to help them deal with known local flooding problems. £1 million has been allocated for building skills and capacity within local authorities.
	The £9.7 million funding has been allocated to the following local authorities. The first payments are being made in December 2009. All London borough funding is being made through the Drain London Forum. The methodology for determining the £9.7 million funding can be found on the DEFRA website at:
	http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/flooding/documents/manage/surfacewater/swmethodology.pdf
	
		
			  Table 2: Local authority recipients of SWMP funding 
			  County or unitary authority  Funding received (£000) 
			 Birmingham (Metropolitan) 300 
			 City of Brighton and Hove 275 
			 Leicester City; Kingston upon Hull Unitary; City of Bristol; Liverpool (Metropolitan) 250 
			 Manchester (Metropolitan); City of Nottingham; Leeds (Metropolitan); Hertfordshire County; Buckinghamshire County 200 
			 Luton Unitary; Sheffield (Metropolitan); East Sussex County; West Sussex County 175 
			 Reading Unitary; City of Portsmouth; City of Wolverhampton; Coventry (Metropolitan) 150 
			 Slough Unitary; Norfolk County; Derby Unitary; Hampshire County; Essex County 125 
			 City of Southampton; Kirklees Unitary; Southend on Sea Unitary; City of Stoke on Trent; Somerset County; Kent County; Swindon Unitary; Surrey County; Calderdale (Metropolitan); City of Plymouth; North Somerset Unitary; Gloucestershire County; Middlesbrough Unitary; Blackpool Unitary; Leicestershire County; Northants County; Sandwell Unitary (West Midlands); Westminster (LB); Lambeth (LB); Croydon (LB); Kensington and Chelsea (LB); Islington (LB); Camden (LB); Wandsworth (LB); Lewisham (LB); Southwark (LB); Bromley (LB); Hackney (LB); Hammersmith and Fulham (LB); Brent (LB); Enfield (LB); Havering (LB); Haringey (LB); Greenwich (LB); Merton (LB); Barnet (LB); Tower Hamlets (LB); Waltham Forest (LB); Sutton (LB); Newham (LB); Hillingdon (LB); Ealing (LB); Hounslow (LB); Richmond upon Thames (LB); Harrow (LB); Bexley (LB); Redbridge (LB); Kingston upon Thames (LB); Barking and Dagenham (LB) 100 
			 Lancashire County; Suffolk County; Bournemouth Unitary; Rochdale (Metropolitan) 75 
			 Total 9,700 
		
	
	In addition, local authorities were able to bid for a part of the £5 million to help deal with known surface water problems. We are aiming to make an announcement to successful local authorities in January 2010. Funding will be made available after March 2010. The criteria for bids can be found at:
	http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/flooding/documents/manage/surfacewater/earlyactapplication.doc
	Additionally, £300,000 was allocated in December 2008 for six areas (Warrington, Thatcham, Leeds, Kingston upon Hull, Richmond upon Thames and Gloucestershire) to carry out first edition surface water management plans with the aim to test DEFRA's Draft Surface Water Management Plan Guidance.
	 3. Building skills and capacity for local authorities
	An additional £1 million will be available for building skills and capacity within local authorities. This will include the provision of training, guidance and support tools to all local authorities and a programme for this will be developed with local authorities and their representatives over the next few months.

Flood Control: Finance

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the  (a) take-up and  (b) geographic distribution has been of funding made available by his Department following the flooding of summer 2007 for flood prevention works; how much such funding has yet to be allocated; and if he will make a statement.

Huw Irranca-Davies: Spending on flood risk management across central and local government has increased from £307 million in 1996-97 to over £655 million in 2008-09, and is due to reach £715 million in 2009-10 and £780 million in 2010-11. This will bring the total spent by DEFRA, the Environment Agency and local authorities over three years to £2.15 billion. £20 million of the original £800 million for 2010-11 was brought forward into this year's budgets as part of the fiscal stimulation package announced in the 2008 pre-Budget report.
	The majority of the funding is through the Environment Agency which allocates funding to Regional Flood Defence Committees for both new capital schemes and to maintain existing defences on the basis of national priorities to ensure that the funding is spent in the best way possible. Delivery is managed through the Environment Agency's regional offices.
	The following table provides a regional analysis of Government funding to the Environment Agency for 2008-09 and 2009-10.
	
		
			  Table 1: DEFRA Grant in aid to the Environment Agency Regions 2008-09 to 2009-10 
			  £ million 
			   Anglian  Midlands  North East  North West  Southern  South West  Thames  Total 
			 2008-09 135.0 46.6 60.7 49.3 61.7 51.7 90.2 495.3 
			 2009-10 115.6 62.1 77.3 61.1 77.3 52.9 102.3 548.6 
		
	
	In April 2006 the Environment Agency took on responsibility for the administration of capital grants payable to local authorities and Internal Drainage Boards under delegation from DEFRA for all schemes promoted under the Land Drainage Act and for schemes under the Coast Protection Act from April 2008.
	In 2008-09 and 2009-10, £64 million was allocated in each year for projects delivered by these bodies. In both years the Environment Agency fully utilised the entire grant-in-aid allocation on its own projects or those delivered by local authorities and Internal Drainage Boards
	Another major tranche of funding since 2007 has been allocated to taking forward the Pitt review recommendations over the period 2008-09 to 2010-11.
	As noted in Annex A of the Progress Report (published 15 December 2009) on The Government's response to Sir Michael Pitt's review of the summer 2007 floods, up to £34.5 million will be allocated by DEFRA to delivery organisations to help cover the additional costs of taking forward the recommendations they are responsible for.
	The following table shows that a total of £20.2 million has been allocated to date to individual bodies and agencies.
	
		
			  Table 2: Funding allocations for implementing the Pitt review recommendations 
			  Allocation to:  Allocation (£)  Allocated by December 2009 (£)  To deliver: 
			 Local authorities 15,000,000 (1)10,000,000 Local authority leadership on flood risk management in the highest priority areas, including surface water management plans, tackling surface water problems, mapping of drainage assets, and oversight and maintenance of sustainable drainage systems for new housing, etc. 
			 Environment Agency and Met Office 5,000,000 3,760,000 A new joint forecasting and warning centre, including the extreme rainfall alert. 
			 Environment Agency 8,500,000 5,000,000 All other recommendations where the Agency lead, including their new strategic overview of all types of flood risk in England, better modelling, forecasting and mapping for flooding particularly surface water, roll-out of ex-directory flood warnings, reservoir inundation maps, and a national flooding exercise to test the new response arrangements. 
			 Met Office 500,000 230,000 Research to make use of new detailed forecasting models for flooding. 
			 Cabinet Office 400,000 200,000 New team within the Civil Contingencies Secretariat to run a national campaign to improve the resilience of critical national infrastructure. 
			 Others 10,000 10,000 To fund the Risk and Regulatory Advisory Council to consider the communication of flood risk to the public. 
			 Contingency 5,100,000 1,000,000 To provide a contingency fund in case allocations need to be increased in some areas, and to include: Up to £2 million for an improved flood rescue capability; Up to £1.25 million to support the production of reservoir emergency plans by Local Resilience Forums. Funds have also been provided to the following additional activities announced since the Government's response: £750,000 to support local authority flood risk management, apprenticeships this year and next. A further £250,000 is being funded from other budgets. £140,000 to fund a reservoir inundation mapping tool. 
			 Total 34,500,000 20,200,000  
			 (1) Between 80 local authorities  Source: From: Annex A of the Progress Report on The Government's Response to Sir Michael Pitt's Review (published 15 December 2009). 
		
	
	The break-down of the major funding schemes originating from Pitt review recommendations is as follows:
	 1. Property level grant scheme
	DEFRA is committed to encouraging the adoption of property level protection and resilience, especially where community protection is not available or planned for in the near future.
	Local authorities allocated grants from the first round of the £5.5 million property level grant scheme (announced in June 2009 by the Secretary of State) amounted to £3 million. As yet, no claims for grant have been made against these allocations. Table 3 shows the geographical break-down of recipients.
	
		
			  Table 3: Local authority recipients of property level grant scheme funding 
			  Local authority  Environment Agency region  Amount awarded (£) 
			 Ribble Valley BC North West 119,700 
			 Rossendale BC North West 3,000 
			 Wigan Council North West 83,500 
			 Vale Royal BC North West 15,000 
			 Leeds City Council North East 131,100 
			 Wakefield MDC North East 85,500 
			 Newcastle City Council North East 216,600 
			 Wychavon DC Midlands 121,000 
			 Birmingham City Council Midlands 153,900 
			 South Derbyshire DC Midlands 33,511 
			 Aylesbury Vale DC Anglian 325,000 
			 Milton Keynes Council Anglian 39,900 
			 Uttlesford DC Anglian 79,800 
			 Oxford City Council Thames 119,700 
			 West Oxfordshire DC Thames 171,000 
			 Vale of White Horse DC Thames 51,300 
			 Wokingham DC Thames 114,000 
			 Lewes DC Southern 282,000 
			 Somerset CC South West 267,900 
			 East Devon DC South West 96,900 
			 Gloucester CC Midlands 68,400 
			 Doncaster CC North East 108,000 
			 Gloucester CC and Tewkesbury BC Midlands 119,000 
			 Lincolnshire CC Anglian 96,900 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire Council North East 108,000 
			   3,010,611 
		
	
	 2. Surface water management
	On 18 August the Secretary of State announced £16 million funding to help local authorities tackle surface water flooding.
	£9.7 million was been awarded to 77 local authorities for areas where evidence shows that the risk and potential impact of surface water flooding could be highest. Local authorities for all other areas will also be able to bid for a share of £5 million to help them deal with known local flooding problems. £1 million has been allocated for building skills and capacity within local authorities. The £9.7 million funding has been allocated to the following local authorities. The first payments are being made in December 2009 and will then be made monthly until the end of March 2011. All London borough funding is being made through the Drain London Forum.
	
		
			  Table 4: Local authority recipients of SWMP funding 
			  County or unitary authority  Funding received (£000) 
			 Birmingham (Metropolitan) 300 
			   
			 City of Brighton and Hove 275 
			   
			 Leicester City  
			 Kingston upon Hull Unitary  
			 City of Bristol  
			 Liverpool (Metropolitan) 250 
			   
			 Manchester (Metropolitan)  
			 City of Nottingham  
			 Leeds (Metropolitan)  
			 Hertfordshire County  
			 Buckinghamshire County 200 
			   
			 Luton Unitary  
			 Sheffield (Metropolitan)  
			 East Sussex County  
			 West Sussex County 175 
			   
			  
			 Reading Unitary  
			 City of Portsmouth  
			 City of Wolverhampton  
			 Coventry (Metropolitan) 150 
			   
			 Slough Unitary  
			 Norfolk County  
			 Derby Unitary  
			 Hampshire County  
			 Essex County 125 
			   
			 City of Southampton  
			 Kirklees Unitary  
			 Southend on Sea Unitary  
			 City of Stoke-on-Trent  
			 Somerset County  
			 Kent County  
			 Swindon Unitary  
			 Surrey County  
			 Calderdale (Metropolitan)  
			 City of Plymouth  
			 North Somerset Unitary  
			 Gloucestershire County  
			 Middlesbrough Unitary  
			 Blackpool Unitary  
			 Leicestershire County  
			 Northants County  
			 Sandwell Unitary (West Midlands)  
			 Westminster (LB)  
			 Lambeth (LB)  
			 Croydon (LB)  
			 Kensington and Chelsea (LB)  
			 Islington (LB)  
			 Camden (LB)  
			 Wandsworth (LB)  
			 Lewisham (LB)  
			 Southwark (LB)  
			 Bromley (LB)  
			 Hackney (LB)  
			 Hammersmith and Fulham (LB)  
			 Brent (LB)  
			 Enfield (LB)  
			 Havering (LB)  
			 Haringey (LB)  
			 Greenwich (LB)  
			 Merton (LB)  
			 Barnet (LB)  
			 Tower Hamlets (LB)  
			 Waltham Forest (LB)  
			 Sutton (LB)  
			 Newham (LB)  
			 Hillingdon (LB)  
			 Ealing (LB)  
			 Hounslow (LB)  
			 Richmond upon Thames (LB)  
			 Harrow (LB)  
			 Bexley (LB)  
			 Redbridge (LB)  
			 Kingston upon Thames (LB)  
			 Barking and Dagenham (LB) 100 
			   
			 Lancashire County  
			 Suffolk County  
			 Bournemouth Unitary  
			 Rochdale (Metropolitan) 75 
			   
			 Total 9,700 
		
	
	In addition local authorities were able to bid for a part of the £5 million to help deal with known surface water problems. Bids closed on 30 November 2009.
	Applications are currently being assessed and we are aiming to make an announcement to successful local authorities in January 2010. Funding will be made available after March 2010.
	Additionally £300,000 was allocated in December 2008 for six areas (Warrington, Thatcham, Leeds, Kingston upon Hull, Richmond upon Thames and Gloucestershire) to carry out first edition surface water management plans with the aim to test DEFRA's Draft Surface Water Management Plan Guidance.
	 3. Building skills and capacity for local authorities
	An additional £1 million will be available for building skills and capacity within local authorities. This will include the provision of training, guidance and support tools to all local authorities and a programme for this will be developed with local authorities and their representatives over the next few months.

Food

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what volume of  (a) wheat,  (b) barley,  (c) fresh vegetables,  (d) potatoes,  (e) fresh fruit,  (f) beef and veal,  (g) pork,  (h) bacon and ham,  (i) mutton and lamb,  (j) poultry meat,  (k) eggs and  (l) liquid milk was produced in England in each year since 1997.

Huw Irranca-Davies: England figures are not available for all the products listed. However, the following tables show UK production figures for each product in each year since 1997. To reduce the burden on the industry some companies with sites in different parts of the UK provide information on their total UK production. Also, particularly for livestock and livestock products, where something is produced does not necessarily reflect its origin. For example sheep slaughtered in England may be raised in Wales.
	
		
			  UK crop production 
			  Thousand tonnes 
			   Wheat  Barley  Potatoes  Vegetables  Fruit 
			 1997 15,018 7,828 7,128 2,937 292 
			 1998 15,449 6,623 6,422 2,863 278 
			 1999 14,867 6,581 7,131 2,952 347 
			 2000 16,704 6,492 6,178 2,923 307 
			 2001 11,580 6,660 6,674 2,865 331 
			 2002 15,973 6,128 6,921 2,573 294 
			 2003 14,288 6,370 6,058 2,543 269 
			 2004 15,473 5,816 6,246 2,559 294 
			 2005 14,863 5,495 5,979 2,710 363 
			 2006 14,735 5,239 5,727 2,597 392 
			 2007 13,221 5,079 5,564 2,480 403 
			 2008 17,227 6,144 5,999 2,607 403 
			  Source: Agriculture in the United Kingdom 2008, DEFRA 
		
	
	
		
			  UK meat production 
			  Thousand tonnes 
			   Beef and veal  Pork  Bacon and ham  Mutton and lamb  Poultry meat 
			 1997 698 884 242 342 1,527 
			 1998 695 921 240 373 1,548 
			 1999 679 824 243 392 1,549 
			 2000 704 716 224 383 1,514 
			 2001 645 590 221 267 1,566 
			 2002 694 595 231 307 1,557 
			 2003 703 542 237 310 1,578 
			 2004 724 547 235 319 1,571 
			 2005 765 543 240 336 1,583 
			 2006 852 548 231 332 1,517 
			 2007 888 599 197 328 1,459 
			 2008 863 602 184 333 1,429 
			  Source: Agriculture in the United Kingdom 2008, DEFRA UK Meat Supplies and Domestic use, DEFRA 
		
	
	
		
			  UK Egg and milk production 
			   Eggs (million dozen)  Milk (million litres) 
			 1997 794 14,426 
			 1998 774 14,220 
			 1999 738 14,587 
			 2000 712 14,078 
			 2001 753 14,291 
			 2002 747 14,447 
			 2003 730 14,583 
			 2004 773 14,134 
			 2005 772 14,059 
			 2006 743 13,914 
			 2007 720 13,632 
			 2008 755 13,332 
			  Source: Agriculture in the United Kingdom 2008, DEFRA

Forestry Commission: Conferences

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many  (a) away days and  (b) conferences that took place outside the Forestry Commission's buildings attended by civil servants in the Forestry Commission there have been since 2005; and what the cost was of each.

Huw Irranca-Davies: The Forestry Commission in England does not hold the information centrally and it could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Forestry Commission: Hotels

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much the Forestry Commission has spent on hotel accommodation for its officials in each of the last five years.

Huw Irranca-Davies: The Forestry Commission does not hold the information in the format requested and it could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Ivory

Richard Benyon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether he has had discussions with the African Elephant Coalition on the level of elephant-poaching for ivory since the 2008 ivory stockpile sales; and if he will make a statement.

Huw Irranca-Davies: Neither I nor the Secretary of State have had discussions with the African Elephant Coalition.

Ivory

Richard Benyon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether he has had discussions with African range states on the 2008 ivory stockpile sales; and if he will make a statement.

Huw Irranca-Davies: Neither I nor the Secretary of State have had discussions with the African range states on the 2008 ivory stockpile sales.

Ivory

Richard Benyon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether he has received reports on the effects on the level of elephant poaching in African range states of stockpile sales of ivory held in October and November 2008; and if he will make a statement.

Huw Irranca-Davies: The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), Elephant Trade Information System (ETIS) and the Monitoring of Illegal Killing of Elephants (MIKE) programmes have each provided reports to be considered at the next CITES Conference of Parties to be held in Qatar in March 2010. These consider the effects of the one-off legal sale of ivory in 2008. The reports can be found on the CITES website.

Ivory

Richard Benyon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether he has had discussions with his EU counterparts on the proposals to extend the moratorium on ivory sales at the 15th Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species conference of the Parties; and if he will make a statement.

Huw Irranca-Davies: Officials are engaged in discussions with EU member states to reach agreed positions on all the proposals to be considered at the 15th( )Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species Conference of Parties. Final positions have yet to be agreed and discussions will continue up until the conference which will take place in March.

Ivory: China

Richard Benyon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent  (a) reports he has received and  (b) discussions he has had with his (i) Chinese and (ii) Japanese counterparts on the controls in place in respect of illegal ivory imports to each of those countries; and if he will make a statement.

Huw Irranca-Davies: A report on inspections and control checks undertaken in China and Japan upon the arrival of the legal ivory, from the sale which took place in 2008, was prepared for the 58th meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species Standing Committee held between 6 and 10 July 2009. I have received no other reports, nor have I held discussions with either Chinese or Japanese officials on the controls in place, in respect of illegal ivory imports to those countries since the ivory sale in 2008.

Joint Waste Authorities

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the latest timetable is for the establishment of joint waste authorities; and in which areas he expects the first such authorities to be established.

Dan Norris: No proposals to establish a joint waste authority have been received to date, though several groups of authorities have submitted non-committal expressions of interest in pursuing this option and DEFRA is working with them to explore what is required-details are available on DEFRA'S website. Development of a full proposal is expected to take a considerable amount of time, and we are keen that authorities do this in line with local needs.
	If a proposal is submitted we expect that it will take at least 12 months to assess, approve if relevant, and implement the legal changes necessary to establish a joint waste authority.
	We will be working closely with authorities as they progress their plans for joint working, through the support programme we have put in place. All forms of advanced partnership working on waste can bring significant benefits, in terms of improved and more efficient service provision.

Morocco: Fishery Agreements

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the EU-Morocco Fisheries Partnership Agreement.

Huw Irranca-Davies: No formal assessment of the effectiveness of the EU-Morocco agreement has been made but Joint Committees are held each year where both parties discuss how they consider the agreement is working. The UK attends these meetings in order to represent the interests of the vessels that operate in Moroccan waters under the agreement.

National Bee Unit: Finance

Richard Benyon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much of the £2.3 million funding allocation to the National Bee Unit announced in January 2009 has been spent under each budget heading.

Dan Norris: The additional funding of £2.3 million allocated to the Food and Environment Research Agency's National Bee Unit to implement the Healthy Bees plan was spread over two years-£1.137 million in 2009-10 and £1.158 million in 2010-11. Details of the amounts spent to 30 November 2009 are set out as follows:
	
		
			  Activity  Spend (£) 
			 New Seasonal Bee Inspectors 375,000 
			 New Education Officer Post 45,000 
			 Healthy Bees Plan Project Board Educational and Promotional Activities (1)180,000 
			 Healthy Bees Plan Stakeholder Steering Group and Project Workstreams (1)60,000 
			 Additional Diagnostics 81,000 
			 Beebase Development 48,000 
			 Project Management 60,000 
			 (1) Committed to project activities being considered and agreed by the Healthy Bees Plan Project Management Board. 
		
	
	The balance for 2009-10 will focus on advice and training to beekeepers at the start of the new season; completion of Beebase development; and additional diagnostics following the completion of the Random Apiary Survey.

Office of Water Services: Conferences

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many  (a) away days and  (b) conferences that took place outside the Office of Water Services (Ofwat) buildings attended by civil servants in Ofwat there have been since 2005; and what the cost was of each.

Huw Irranca-Davies: The following tables set out the cost of Ofwat's away days and conferences attended and held by Ofwat and its staff members.
	It has not been possible to provide figures for away days/team building and conferences for the years 2004-05 and 2005-06. Previous recording methods did not separately identify such spending.
	It has not been possible to separate out all away days attended by Ofwat staff as they are recorded across a number of reporting codes. Team building days have to be signed off by Ofwat's director of operations. The cost of events coded as team building are provided in the following table.
	
		
			   Expenditure (£) 
			 2006-07 5,094.97 
			 2007-08 866.39 
			 2008-09 10,461.92 
		
	
	Ofwat is only able to provide the total expenditure recorded under its conferences and seminars reporting codes. This includes conferences attended by Ofwat staff but also conferences and seminars held by Ofwat both in its building and externally. This information is given in the following table.
	
		
			   Expenditure (£) 
			 2006-07 44,341.00 
			 2007-08 39,725.00 
			 2008-09 65,589.00

Pets: Animal Welfare

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what his Department's policy is on signing the European Convention for the Protection of Pet Animals; and if he will make a statement.

Dan Norris: We recognise that the European convention has been an important catalyst in raising animal welfare standards. The introduction of the Animal Welfare Act 2006 in England and Wales-as well as the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006-means that our laws are now consistent with the principles set out in the convention. Nevertheless, there are aspirations in the convention, in particular the resolution on breed standards, which may not necessarily be the most effective way of promoting welfare. We therefore do not consider signing the convention to be a priority for Government.

Rights of Way

John Grogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many incidents involving animals resulted in  (a) injury and  (b) death on (i) public rights of way and (ii) land to which the public has access in each of the last five years for which figures are available; and what the requirements for reporting such incidents are.

Jonathan R Shaw: I have been asked to reply.
	The statistics gathered under reporting arrangements cannot distinguish between rights of way and other open access land. The following information is for incidents involving animals where the injured person was classed as a member of the public and the incident was related to agriculture.
	
		
			   Reported injuries  Fatal 
			 2004-05 18 0 
			 2005-06 17 3 
			 2006-07 24 2 
			 2007-08 23 0 
			 2008-09 10 2 
		
	
	Besides responsibilities of employers in respect of employees, the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR) place a legal duty on those in control of premises where work is going on to report to the enforcing authorities for health and safety at work all serious injuries to members of the public arising out of or in connection with the work activity. This would apply to injuries causing the death of the person or requiring their removal to hospital for treatment. The requirement is to report the incident by the quickest practicable means.
	The Incident Contact Centre, which was set up by the Health and Safety Executive in 2001, provides a one-stop reporting service for work-related health and safety incidents in the UK. Reports can be made by phone, letter, fax, on-line or email.

Rural Payments Agency: Data Protection

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps have been taken to ensure the security of farmers' personal data held by the Rural Payments Agency since the data losses in July 2009.

Dan Norris: Though no farmers' data are believed to have been lost, the Rural Payments Agency has put in place a number of improvements to the way farmers' personal data are secured. The core IT infrastructure supplier has been instructed to increase the physical security access to our data centres. Tracking and logging processes for all removable media at all sites, including the transit between sites, has been strengthened. In addition, confirmatory reporting of all dispatches and receipts has been introduced.

Sheep: North West

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many attacks there were by dogs on sheep in  (a) Lancashire and  (b) the north west in the latest period for which figures are available.

Dan Norris: The Dogs (Protection of Livestock) Act 1953 provides for the protection of livestock from attack by dogs. Centralised records are not kept on species-specific livestock attacks by dogs. However, the following table shows the number of defendants cautioned, proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts in relation to the wider category of 'Dogs worrying livestock on agricultural land', for the North West Government Office Region and for Lancashire during the latest period (2007) for which figures are available.
	
		
			  Number of defendants cautioned( 1, 2) , proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts for 'Dogs worrying livestock on agricultural land', North West Government Office Region (G.O.R) 2007( 3, 4) 
			   Cautioned  Proceeded against  Found guilty 
			 North West GOR(5) 2 7 5 
			  Of which:
			 Lancashire PFA(6) 1 4 3 
			 (1) The cautions statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been cautioned for two or more offences at the same time the principal offence is the more serious offence. (2) From 1 June 2000 the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 came into force nationally and removed the use of cautions for persons under 18 and replaced them with reprimands and warnings. These figures have been included in the totals. (3) The statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (4) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (5) Includes the following police force areas: Cumbria, Lancashire, Merseyside, Greater Manchester and Cheshire. (6) PFA: Police Force Area.  Source:  Ministry of Justice

Total Allowable Catches

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what representations he has received on negotiations under the Common Fisheries Policy on Area 7 Nephrops total allowable catch quota for 2010;
	(2)  what discussions he has had with the Northern Ireland Minister for Agriculture on the December EU Fisheries Council.

Huw Irranca-Davies: I am well aware of the importance of the Nephrops fishery in the Irish Sea to UK fishermen. I visited Portavogie earlier in the year to see this at first hand and have since received a significant number of representations both from the relevant sections of the fishing industry and hon. Members either with constituency or policy interest. The Commission had originally proposed a 30 per cent. cut in the total allowable catch (TAC) for the stock and although it was not possible to argue away the cut altogether, working closely with Michelle Gildernew (Minister for the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development) and deploying more up-to-date science, we succeeded in limiting the reduction to 9 per cent. In the circumstances this was a very credible result. In the meantime, we will also be exploring the potential for supplementing the UK's quota with international swaps from other member states. However, for the future, it will be important to balance the short-term interests of the fishermen, with the longer term sustainable management of the stock.
	The Minister for the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development was present throughout the December Council and she and I have been in regular contact in the lead-up to the negotiations to discuss the full range of Northern Irish interests.

Waste Disposal

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress has been made on the development of an electronic system to record waste transfer rates, with particular reference to the compilation of a comprehensive and contemporary database.

Dan Norris: The Electronic Duty of Care is a pilot project which is part of The Waste Crime Innovation Programme funded by DEFRA and managed by the Environment Agency. The project is supported by an industry-led advisory team.
	Work started in May 2009, with six waste companies volunteering to take part across South East England, and is planned to be extended in the new year. The pilot aims to test the effectiveness of waste tracking technologies and should deliver business benefits to waste companies, including substantially reducing regulatory compliance costs. With more accurate and timely data, business should be able to invest with greater confidence in infrastructure to recover and re-use wasted raw materials.
	The Environment Agency has recently sought funding through the European Union LIFE+ Programme to develop a national system from January 2011. This would support the rollout of a nationally integrated system for the electronic capture of waste transfer data. This will potentially displace a large proportion of the current paper-based system and considerably reduce the administrative burden to business, industry and Government. If successful we will use an open tender process to develop and maintain the waste monitoring database.

Waste Disposal: Fixed Penalties

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many fixed penalty notices for household waste offences were issued in each Government Office region in each of the last three years.

Dan Norris: DEFRA does not hold such information.

Waste Disposal: Fixed Penalties

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what information  (a) his Department and  (b) the Waste and Resources Action Programme holds on those local authorities which have used their powers to fine households for breaching a (A) no side waste collection policy and (B) closed lid policy.

Dan Norris: Neither DEFRA nor the Waste and Resources Action programme hold the information requested.

Whales: Conservation

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether he plans to update his Department's document Protecting whales-a global responsibility prior to the International Whaling Commission in June 2010; and if he will make a statement.

Huw Irranca-Davies: DEFRA's publication Protecting whales-a global responsibility sets out the ecological, economic and moral arguments for protecting whales. Since its publication in 2007, the UK's position on whaling has remained strong and we continue to support the arguments set out in the publication.
	The main objectives of the publication were to raise awareness of the situation in the International Whaling Commission (IWC) and persuade 'like-minded' conservation countries of the merits of joining the organisation. Both these objectives have been achieved with a number of 'like-minded' conservation minded countries recently joining the IWC.
	An update of the publication Protecting whales-a global responsibility will be considered following the outcome of the discussions on the reform of the IWC currently taking place.

Whales: Conservation

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions he has had with ministerial colleagues on whaling in the last 12 months; whether he plans to hold further such discussions before the 2010 International Whaling Commission meeting; and if he will make a statement.

Huw Irranca-Davies: Following last year's International Whaling Commission (IWC) meeting, I wrote to all hon. Members, which included a report on the latest developments within the IWC. I will write again in the build-up to this year's meeting.
	In June 2009, I also met the hon. Peter Garrett, MP, Australian Minister for the Environment, to discuss whaling and the IWC.

PRIME MINISTER

Government Departments: Cost-effectiveness

Dai Davies: To ask the Prime Minister how many staff worked on the Operational Efficiency Programme; how many  (a) meetings and  (b) video conferences were held as part of the work of the programme; how much was spent on travel costs for the programme's advisers to attend meetings; and how much was spent on the programme.

Liam Byrne: I have been asked to reply.
	The operational efficiency programme final report was the product of work led by five advisers: Dr. Martin Read, Mr. Martin Jay, Mr. Gerry Grimstone, Lord Carter of Coles and Sir Michael Bichard. They worked without pay, but their expenses were recoverable. They were supported by a team based from HM Treasury. At its peak this team numbered 12. Given the cross-cutting nature of the review and the number of organisations involved, HM Treasury does not centrally hold figures showing the total cost, number of meetings or number of video-conferences held.

Non-Departmental Public Bodies

Dai Davies: To ask the Prime Minister what arms-length bodies the Government plans to abolish, with reference to page 54 of Putting the Front Line First: Smarter Government, Cm 7753.

Liam Byrne: I have been asked to reply.
	The recent White Paper Putting the Frontline First: Smarter Government pledged to reduce the number of arm's length bodies by over 120. The bodies that are affected, subject to the necessary legislation and consultation required, are as follows:
	15 Agricultural Wages Committees in England.
	16 Agricultural Dwelling House Advisory Committees in England are being abolished.
	The number of Advisory Committees for the Appointment of Justices of the Peace will be reduced from 101 to 49.
	Four Court Boards will be removed by 1 April 2010, reducing them from 23 to 19 in line with new court regional areas.
	Her Majesty's Courts Inspectorate is to be abolished.
	The Sentencing Advisory Panel and Sentencing Guidelines Council will be merged.
	The Postgraduate Medical Education Training Board is being merged with the General Medical Council.
	The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills is committed to reducing by 30 or more the number of separate publicly funded sector skills bodies over the next three years. Individual bodies have not yet been confirmed, but further details can be seen in chapter 6 of the BIS Skills for Growth White Paper (CM 7641 )(1).
	Four museums sponsored by the Ministry of Defence are being merged into the new National Museum of the Royal Navy-the separate museums are:
	Royal Marines Museum
	Royal Naval Museum
	Royal Naval Submarine Museum
	Fleet Air Arm.
	In total this represents a reduction of 123 separate arm's length bodies. In Budget 2010 there will be a further report on arm's length bodies, which will include further mergers and reductions of bodies. We will also announce ALB governance reforms, which will set out a tougher regime for establishing new bodies, and drive out value for money and efficiencies from the sector as a whole.
	(1) Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (November 2009), Skills For Growth: The National Skills Strategy. London: the Stationary Office (CM 7641).

Public Sector: Procurement

Dai Davies: To ask the Prime Minister whether his planned consultation on Smarter Government will include proposals on access to data held on the monetary value of contracts let by or on behalf of the Government with private sector  (a) consultants and  (b) contractors.

Liam Byrne: I have been asked to reply.
	Treasury officials are currently in the process of putting together proposals on publishing further financial data. These proposals will be agreed with Ministers prior to the launch of the consultation.

TRANSPORT

Cars: Licensing

Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many cars have ceased to be licensed in each year since 1985.

Paul Clark: The following table gives annual estimates of the number of registration marks that were on a car which ceased to be licensed, or which underwent a cherished transfer to another vehicle. Data are not available prior to 1995.
	
		
			   Number of car registration marks that ceased to be licensed  Estimated number of cherished transfers of car registration marks to other vehicles 
			 1995 2,768,000 85,000 
			 1996 2,549,000 98,000 
			 1997 2,726,000 112,000 
			 1998 2,984,000 136,000 
			 1999 2,860,000 134,000 
			 2000 3,012,000 115,000 
			 2001 3,028,000 167,000 
			 2002 3,177,000 191,000 
			 2003 3,385,000 217,000 
			 2004 3,203,000 253,000 
			 2005 3,189,000 264,000 
			 2006 3,289,000 294,000 
			 2007 3,281,000 298,000 
			 2008 3,264,000 284,000 
			  Note:  Figures are rounded to the nearest thousand. 
		
	
	The first data column counts cars that were not licensed at the end of the years shown, but whose registration mark was licensed (possibly on another vehicle) 12 months earlier. The vehicles that have become unlicensed may have been scrapped, exported or otherwise taken off the road. However, it is possible for unlicensed vehicles to become relicensed again in later years.
	The second data column counts the number of cherished transfers of registration marks from cars to other vehicles in the years shown. However, cherished transfer registration marks which are held on retention (rather than being transferred directly to other vehicles) are counted in the first column. The available data do not record what happened to vehicles whose registration mark was the subject of a cherished transfer. Some such vehicles would have been taken off the road, but others would have received a new registration mark and been relicensed. The figures are presented as rounded estimates, rather than exact counts, in view of this uncertainty.

Christmas

David Davies: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many Christmas trees were purchased by his Department and its agencies in each of the last five years; what the cost was of those trees in each year; from where the trees were sourced; what account was taken of the sustainability of the sources of the trees; and by what process the trees were disposed of.

Chris Mole: The information requested for the whole Department, including its agencies is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Christmas

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how much his Department has budgeted for Christmas trees in 2009.

Chris Mole: holding answer 15 December 2009
	The information requested for the whole Department, including its agencies is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Dartford-Thurrock Crossing: Tolls

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport whether the hours during which tariffs may be charged for motorists' use of the Dartford-Thurrock Crossing are  (a) determined by a European Union directive and  (b) constrained for the purposes of congestion management; and if he will make a statement.

Sadiq Khan: The charge at the Dartford Crossing is a road user charge designed to combat traffic congestion. Although current EU directives apply to certain tolls and user charges in the UK, none apply so as to determine the hours during which the road user charge at Dartford may apply. The road user charge applies between 6 am and 10 pm when traffic levels generally exceed the crossing's capacity. There is no charge during the hours of 10 pm to 6 am to encourage traffic to avoid peak times.

Departmental Buildings

Phil Willis: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many residential properties his Department owns; and how many  (a) are occupied and  (b) have been empty for more than six months.

Chris Mole: The Driving Standards Agency and the Highways Agency own residential properties.
	The Driving Standards Agency owns the freehold of two residential flats situated above a Driving Test Centre. The flats are let on long leases (circa 80 years), and both are occupied.
	The Highways Agency owns 428 residential properties, of which 325 are occupied.
	103 have been empty for more than six months.
	Of these 103:
	Six currently are being marketed to let.
	Four properties are awaiting demolition.
	34 are vacant in the disposal process.
	Two properties are un-lettable because they are inaccessible due to road construction works.
	44 are vacant awaiting repair. 26 of these are in an improvement programme for this financial year and will be available to let by 31 March 2010. The remaining 18 will be considered for improvement in 2010-11.
	13 properties are beyond economic repair.

Departmental Conferences

Graham Stuart: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many  (a) away days and  (b) conferences that took place outside his Department's building attended by civil servants in his Department there have been since 2005; and what the cost was of each.

Chris Mole: The Department for Transport can only provide the detail of away days and conferences held outside the Department's building attended by civil servants since 2005 by incurring disproportionate costs.

Departmental Manpower

Crispin Blunt: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many staff of his Department were in its redeployment pool on 1  (a) January,  (b) April,  (c) July and  (d) October 2009.

Chris Mole: The Central Department and its Agencies recorded the following number of individuals in our respective redeployment pools in each of  (a) January,  (b) April,  (c) July and  (d) October 2009:
	
		
			   Total number of staff in redeployment pool 
			 January 2009 29 
			 April 2009 19 
			 July 2009 19 
			 October 2009 40

Invalid Vehicles: Driving Offences

Jeff Ennis: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport if he will bring forward proposals to introduce a new offence of riding a mobility scooter in a dangerous way.

Sadiq Khan: We have no plans to introduce a new offence of riding a mobility scooter in a dangerous way.
	An offence under paragraph 35 of the Offences Against the Persons Act 1861-Drivers of carriages injuring persons by furious driving-already exists in law.
	We are aware that the use of powered mobility vehicles is growing. In view of this we are now expecting to consult on issues such as compulsory insurance and training, a more comprehensive registration scheme and on the design and safety standards of mobility vehicles. Our aim will continue to be to balance the mobility needs of scooter users with the safety needs of pedestrians and other road users.

M20: Lorries

Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what the cost was of the moveable concrete barrier on the M20, pursuant to Operation Stack, how many times it has been deployed; and what assessment he has made of its effectiveness.

Chris Mole: The installation cost of the moveable concrete barrier on the M20 pursuant to Operation Stack was £6,848,084.
	The moveable barrier has been used three times since its introduction in September 2008. The first time was for a period of 10 weeks following the Channel Tunnel fire closure in late 2008. The moveable barrier has been assessed as being highly effective in achieving the safe but rapid implementation of Operation Stack Phase 1 on the M20, so avoiding widespread travel disruption in Kent.

M4

John McDonnell: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport whether any section of the M4 in the London Borough of Hillingdon would fall within a public safety zone under the terms of his Department's Public Safety Zone policy as set out in circular 1/2002 on Control of Developments in Airport Public Safety Zones if a third runway is constructed at Heathrow Airport.

Paul Clark: The Department for Transport (DfT) only establishes Public Safety Zones (PSZs) for existing airport runways. For proposed new runways it would be a matter for the airport operator-BAA in the case of Heathrow-to produce draft Public Safety Zone contours as part of any future planning application. DfT Circular 1/2002 on Control of Developments in Airport Public Safety Zones sets out the PSZ policy in relation to transport infrastructure at paragraph 19.

M5: Repairs and Maintenance

David Drew: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what works are being undertaken between junctions 13 and 11 of the M5; when the work is expected to be completed; what the estimated cost of their work is; and which contractors have been commissioned to complete it.

Chris Mole: holding answer 16 December 2009
	The following works are being undertaken between junctions 13 and 11 of the M5-installation of Variable Message Signs which are due for completion by the end of March 2010. The work is being undertaken by Balfour Beatty Mott MacDonald at a cost of £3.275 million.
	To take advantage of the traffic management arrangements for these works, new barriers at Naas Lane and Harefield Lane between junctions 11a and 12 are also being installed by the same contractor to protect bridge piers from collision damage at a cost of £1.5 million.

National Cycle Plan

Andrew Stunell: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport when he plans to publish the National Cycle Plan; and if he will make a statement.

Sadiq Khan: We will publish with the Department of Health a joint Active Travel Strategy and National Cycle Plan in the new year.

Roads: Accidents

Andrew Stunell: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what recent representations he has received on amending the civil law on accident liability by any driver of a moving motorised vehicle in collision with a cyclist; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Clark: No recent representations have been received suggesting reform of the civil law on accident liability on this issue.

Seat Belts

David Amess: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what recent steps his Department  (a) has taken and  (b) plans to take to publicise the dangers to motorists of slipping a seat belt shoulder strap under their arm whilst driving; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Clark: The Department's leaflet 'Seat Belts and Child Restraints' explains that the diagonal strap should lie across the chest and away from the neck. The leaflet is available online at:
	www.dft.gov.uk/think
	There are no plans for further specific publicity to tell motorists how to use seat belts, although the Department will continue to emphasise the importance of wearing them in its safety campaigns and information.

Thames Crossing

Bob Spink: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport if he will visit Castle Point constituency to assess the potential impact on the local environment of a new £4 billion Thames Crossing as proposed by Metrotidal; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Mole: The Department for Transport announced in April 2009 its intention to investigate further three potential options for possible new additional crossing capacity in the Lower Thames area.
	In reaching its decision, links between the provision of additional crossing capacity and a possible new Thames Barrier were considered inappropriate, given the prospective timescales for the need for a new Thames Barrier.
	In promoting their initiative, it is for Metrotidal to set out their assessment of the potential local environmental impacts of their proposals.

Thames Estuary

Bob Spink: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what progress has been made on the dredge in the Thames estuary for the London Gateway Port channel; what safeguards against disturbances of munitions in the SS Richard Montgomery have been put in place; what recent discussions have been held with Dubai World Ports on the financing of the work; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Clark: Progress with the dredge of the London Gateway Port channel is a matter for the port developer, London Gateway Port Ltd., subject to the relevant statutory consents.
	Standard dredging practice in the Thames estuary covers matters such as handling the incidental lifting of munitions left on the sea bed. I am advised that magnetometer surveys have been conducted in order to provide the best advance information. The exclusion zone for the wreck of the SS Richard Montgomery lies over 2 km from the southern edge of the proposed port access channel.
	Financing of the work is also a matter for the port developer.

Transport: Carbon Emissions

Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport 
	(1)  if he will estimate the level of carbon emissions from  (a) rail and  (b) road haulage in each year since 1990 (i) per mile and (ii) in total;
	(2)  if he will estimate the amount of carbon emissions from rail haulage in each year since 1990  (a) per mile and  (b) in total.

Paul Clark: The following tables are based on data from the National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory and Great Britain and Northern Ireland traffic censuses. They summarise carbon dioxide emissions of diesel rail haulage and heavy goods vehicles for the years requested. The tables exclude carbon dioxide emission figures for electric rail haulage and per kilometre for diesel rail haulage which are not available in the form requested.
	UK national emission estimates are updated annually and any developments in methodology are applied retrospectively to earlier years.
	
		
			1990  1991  1992  1993  1994  1995  1996  1997  1998 
			 Diesel rail freight CO2 emissions (kilotonnes) 798 856 793 704 665 680 740 799 801 
			 HGVs CO2 emissions (kilotonnes) 23,268 23,115 22,378 22,060 22,074 22,664 23,046 23,594 23,494 
			 HGVs Kt of CO2/billion km 894 901 896 867 851 850 838 838 804 
		
	
	
		
			1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			 Diesel rail freight CO2 emissions (kilotonnes) 772 736 789 754 768 828 883 900 931 
			 HGVs CO2 emissions (kilotonnes) 24,071 24,218 24,740 24,777 25,696 25,434 24,791 25,421 26,260 
			 HGVs Kt of CO2/billion km 812 811 834 818 838 810 797 811 830 
			  Source:  AEA Energy and Environment.

CABINET OFFICE

10 Downing Street: Lost Property

Grant Shapps: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many  (a) laptop computers,  (b) mobile telephones,  (c) items of office furniture and  (d) works of art have been (i) lost by and (ii) stolen from No. 10 Downing Street in each of the last three years; whether her Department has made an insurance claim in respect of each such item; and what the estimated value of each such item was.

Angela Smith: The Prime Minister's Office is an integral part of the Cabinet Office.
	For information for the period 2004 to 2008, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Chesterfield (Paul Holmes) on 12 March 2009,  Official Report, column 717W.
	Figures for 2009 are not yet available.
	As has been the practice under successive administrations, the Cabinet Office, in common with other Government Departments, 'self insures'.

Breast Cancer

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many people were diagnosed with breast cancer in  (a) Herefordshire county council,  (b) Shropshire council,  (c) Telford and Wrekin borough council,  (d) Cannock Chase district council,  (e) East Staffordshire borough council,  (f) Lichfield district council,  (g) Newcastle-under-Lyme borough council,  (h) South Staffordshire council,  (i) Stafford borough council,  (j) Staffordshire county council,  (k) Staffordshire Moorlands district council,  (l) Stoke-on-Trent city council,  (m) Tamworth borough council,  (n) North Warwickshire borough council,  (o) Nuneaton and Bedworth borough council,  (p) Rugby borough council,  (q) Stratford-on-Avon district council,  (r) Warwick district council,  (s) Warwickshire county council,  (t) Birmingham city council,  (u) Coventry city council,  (v) Dudley metropolitan borough council,  (w) Sandwell metropolitan borough council,  (x) Solihull metropolitan borough council,  (y) Walsall metropolitan borough council,  (z) Wolverhampton city council,  (aa) Bromsgrove district council,  (bb) Malvern Hills district council,  (cc) Redditch borough Council,  (dd) Worcester city council,  (ee) Worcestershire county council,  (ff) Wychavon district council and  (gg) Wyre Forest district council area in each year since 1997.

Angela Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Jil Matheson, dated December 2009:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many people were diagnosed with breast cancer in (a) Herefordshire County Council, (b) Shropshire Council, (c) Telford and Wrekin Borough Council, (d) Cannock Chase District Council, (e) East Staffordshire Borough Council, (f) Lichfield District Council, (g) Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council, (h) South Staffordshire Council, (i) Stafford Borough Council, (j) Staffordshire County Council, (k) Staffordshire Moorlands District Council, (1) Stoke-on-Trent City Council, (m) Tamworth Borough Council, (n) North Warwickshire Borough Council, (o) Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council, (p) Rugby Borough Council, (q) Stratford-on-Avon District Council, (r) Warwick District Council, (s) Warwickshire County Council, (t) Birmingham City Council, (u) Coventry City Council, (v) Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council, (w) Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council, (x) Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council, (y) Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council, (z) Wolverhampton City Council, (aa) Bromsgrove District Council, (bb) Malvern Hills District Council, (cc) Redditch Borough Council, (dd) Worcester City Council, (ee) Worcestershire County Council, (ff) Wychavon District Council and (gg) Wyre Forest District Council in each year since 1997. (308161)
	The latest available figures for newly diagnosed cases of breast cancer (incidence) are for the year 2007. Please note that these numbers may not be the same as the number of people diagnosed with cancer, because one person may be diagnosed with more than one cancer.
	Table 1 provides the numbers of newly diagnosed cases of breast cancer for each year from 1997 to 2007 for (a) County of Herefordshire unitary authority, (b) Shropshire unitary authority, (c) Telford and Wrekin unitary authority, (d) Cannock Chase district, (e) East Staffordshire district, (f) Lichfield district, (g) Newcastle-under-Lyme district, (h) South Staffordshire district, (i) Stafford district, (j) Staffordshire county, (k) Staffordshire Moorlands district, (I) Stoke-on Trent unitary authority, (m) Tamworth district, (n) North Warwickshire district, (o) Nuneaton and Bedworth district, (p) Rugby district, (q) Stratford-on-Avon district, (r) Warwick district, (s) Warwickshire county, (t) Birmingham metropolitan district, (u) Coventry metropolitan district, (v) Dudley metropolitan district, (w) Sandwell metropolitan district, (x) Solihull metropolitan district. (y) Walsall metropolitan district, (z) Wolverhampton metropolitan district; (aa) Bromsgrove district, (bb) Malvern Hills district, (cc) Redditch district, (dd) Worcester district, (ee) Worcestershire county, (ff) Wychavon district and (gg) Wyre Forest district.
	
		
			  Table 1: Registrations of newly diagnosed cases of breast cancer( 1) , persons( 2) , counties and local authorities( 3) ,1997 to 2007( 4) 
			  Persons 
			   1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			 Herefordshire 159 131 130 138 125 143 171 171 157 171 179 
			 Shropshire 203 213 238 266 248 242 256 253 231 271 286 
			 Telford and Wrekin 66 83 117 110 83 102 99 98 131 120 103 
			 Cannock Chase 51 55 54 73 57 69 78 48 85 79 67 
			 East Staffordshire 83 57 56 78 37 67 88 58 95 104 72 
			 Lichfield 56 74 75 83 69 83 69 49 139 89 101 
			 Newcastle-under-Lyme 86 82 96 89 94 113 83 79 137 90 102 
			 South Staffordshire 70 80 65 75 109 74 91 118 115 116 130 
			 Stafford 103 79 94 89 93 112 91 89 158 113 81 
			 Staffordshire 568 514 536 609 596 625 655 589 855 732 686 
			 Staffordshire Moorlands 82 52 59 74 68 65 121 65 78 87 52 
			 Stoke-on Trent 158 182 154 146 163 161 176 215 169 154 192 
			 Tamworth 37 35 37 48 69 42 34 83 48 54 81 
			 North Warwickshire 32 45 43 43 44 48 47 61 43 40 49 
			 Nuneaton and Bedworth 76 68 76 75 66 114 118 71 102 82 79 
			 Rugby 57 79 63 49 58 72 52 70 74 66 89 
			 Stratford-on-Avon 107 85 87 95 84 108 126 80 129 107 103 
			 Warwick 94 97 85 93 124 100 109 121 95 95 106 
			 Warwickshire 366 374 354 355 376 442 452 403 443 390 426 
			 Birmingham 598 637 623 615 601 585 612 591 635 614 635 
			 Coventry 209 191 182 183 179 212 190 205 199 169 207 
			 Dudley 226 219 224 233 235 257 257 262 245 251 252 
			 Sandwell 151 218 190 199 199 179 178 157 205 183 209 
			 Solihull 129 178 199 155 166 192 173 198 184 178 165 
			 Walsall 154 166 165 172 206 177 186 220 208 191 196 
			 Wolverhampton 134 148 162 168 162 162 185 181 156 209 188 
			 Bromsgrove 70 75 58 78 81 65 84 67 67 101 75 
			 Malvern Hills 64 70 68 64 58 63 62 74 72 86 59 
			 Redditch 50 49 49 43 67 62 39 70 61 42 69 
			 Worcester 64 50 78 62 73 66 73 57 78 65 73 
			 Worcestershire 420 403 423 427 451 392 445 507 461 479 505 
			 Wychavon 93 78 88 79 102 79 86 140 104 87 120 
			 Wyre Forest 79 81 82 101 70 57 101 99 79 98 109 
			 (1) Breast cancer is coded as C50 in the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10). (2) Around 99 per cent. of breast cancers cases are in women. (3) Based on boundaries as of 2009. (4) Newly diagnosed cases registered in each calendar year.

Breast Cancer

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many people were diagnosed with breast cancer in the constituencies of  (a) Aldridge-Brownhills,  (b) Birmingham Edgbaston,  (c) Birmingham Erdington,  (d) Birmingham Hall Green,  (e) Birmingham Hodge Hill,  (f) Birmingham Ladywood,  (g) Birmingham Northfield,  (h) Birmingham Perry Barr,  (i) Birmingham Selly Oak,  (j) Birmingham Sparkbrook and Small Heath,  (k) Birmingham Yardley, (l) Bromsgrove,  (m) Burton,  (n) Cannock Chase,  (o) Coventry North East,  (p) Coventry North West,  (q) Coventry South,  (r) Dudley North,  (s) Dudley South,  (t) Halesowen and Rowley Regis,  (u) Hereford,  (v) Leominster,  (w) Lichfield,  (x) Ludlow,  (y) Meriden,  (z) Newcastle-under-Lyme,  (aa) Nuneaton,  (bb) Redditch,  (cc) Rugby and Kenilworth,  (dd) Shrewsbury and Atcham,  (ee) Shropshire North,  (ff) Solihull,  (gg) Stafford,  (hh) Staffordshire Moorlands,  (ii) Staffordshire South,  (jj) Stoke-on-Trent Central,  (kk) Stoke-on-Trent North,  (ll) Stoke-on-Trent South,  (mm) Stone,  (nn) Stourbridge,  (oo) Stratford-upon-Avon,  (pp) Sutton Coldfield,  (qq) Tamworth,  (rr) Telford,  (ss) The Wrekin,  (tt) Walsall North,  (uu) Walsall South,  (vv) Warley,  (ww) Warwick and Leamington,  (xx) Warwickshire North,  (yy) West Bromwich East,  (zz) West Bromwich West,  (aaa) Wolverhampton North East,  (bbb) Wolverhampton South East,  (ccc) Wolverhampton South West,  (ddd) Worcester,  (eee) Worcestershire Mid,  (fff) Worcestershire West and  (ggg) Wyre Forest in each year since 1997.

Angela Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Jil Matheson, dated December 2009:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many people were diagnosed with breast cancer in the constituencies of (a) Aldridge-Brownhills, (b) Birmingham Edgbaston, (c) Birmingham Erdington, (d) Birmingham Hall Green, (e) Birmingham Hodge Hill, (f) Birmingham Ladywood, (g) Birmingham Northfield, (h) Birmingham Perry Barr, (i) Birmingham Selly Oak, (j) Birmingham Sparkbrook and Small Heath, (k) Birmingham Yardley, (1) Bromsgrove, (m) Burton, (n) Cannock Chase, (o) Coventry North East, (p) Coventry North West, (q) Coventry South, (r) Dudley North, (s) Dudley South, (t) Halesowen and Rowley Regis, (u) Hereford, (v) Leominster, (w) Lichfield, (x) Ludlow, (y) Meriden, (z) Newcastle-under-Lyme, (aa) Nuneaton, (bb) Redditch, (cc) Rugby and Kenilworth, (dd) Shrewsbury and Atcham, (ee) Shropshire North, (ff) Solihull, (gg) Stafford, (hh) Staffordshire Moorlands, (ii) Staffordshire South, (jj) Stoke-on-Trent Central, (kk) Stoke-on-Trent North, (11) Stoke-on-Trent South, (mm) Stone, (nn) Stourbridge, (oo) Stratford-upon-Avon, (pp) Sutton Coldfield, (qq) Tamworth, (it) Telford, (ss) The Wrekin, (It) Walsall North, (uu) Walsall South, (vv) Warley, (ww) Warwick and Leamington, (xx) Warwickshire North, (yy) West Bromwich East, (zz) West Bromwich West, (aaa) Wolverhampton North East, (bbb) Wolverhampton South East, (ccc) Wolverhampton South West, (ddd) Worcester, (eee) Worcestershire Mid, (fff) Worcestershire West and (ggg) Wyre Forest in each year since 1997. (308173)
	The latest available figures for newly diagnosed cases of breast cancer (incidence) are for the year 2007. Please note that these numbers may not be the same as the number of people diagnosed with cancer, because one person may be diagnosed with more than one cancer.
	Table 1 provides the numbers of newly diagnosed cases of breast cancer for each year from 1997 to 2007 in the parliamentary constituencies of (a) Aldridge-Brownhills, (b) Birmingham Edgbaston, (c) Birmingham Erdington, (d) Birmingham Hall Green, (e) Birmingham Hodge Hill, (f) Birmingham Ladywood, (g) Birmingham Northfield, (h) Birmingham Perry Barr, (i) Birmingham Selly Oak, (j) Birmingham Sparkbrook and Small Heath, (k) Birmingham Yardley, (1) Bromsgrove, (m) Burton, (n) Cannock Chase, (o) Coventry North East, (p) Coventry North West, (q) Coventry South, (r) Dudley North, (s) Dudley South, (t) Halesowen and Rowley Regis, (u) Hereford, (v) Leominster, (w) Lichfield, (x) Ludlow, (y) Meriden, (z) Newcastle-under-Lyme, (aa) Nuneaton, (bb) Redditch. (cc) Rugby and Kenilworth, (dd) Shrewsbury and Atcham, (ee) North Shropshire, (ff) Solihull, (gg) Stafford, (hh) Staffordshire Moorlands, (ii) South Staffordshire, (jj) Stoke-on-Trent Central, (kk) Stoke-on-Trent North, (ll) Stoke-on-Trent South, (mm) Stone, (nn) Stourbridge, (oo) Stratford-on-Avon, (pp) Sutton Coldfield, (qq) Tamworth, (rr) Telford, (ss) The Wrekin, (tt) Walsall North, (uu) Walsall South, (vv) Warley, (ww) Warwick and Leamington, (xx) North Warwickshire, (yy) West Bromwich East, (zz) West Bromwich West, (aaa) Wolverhampton North East, (bbb) Wolverhampton South East, (ccc) Wolverhampton South West, (ddd) Worcester, (eee) Mid Worcestershire, (fff) West Worcestershire and (ggg) Wyre Forest.
	
		
			  Table 1: Registrations of newly diagnosed eases of breast cancer( 1) , persons( 2) , parliamentary constituencies( 3) , 1997 to 2007( 4) 
			  Persons 
			   1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			 Aldridge-Brownhills 43 61 60 56 79 66 51 83 85 51 87 
			 Birmingham Edgbaston 79 47 69 66 56 64 70 48 57 69 79 
			 Birmingham Erdington 59 74 53 63 60 55 71 53 59 87 41 
			 Birmingham Hall Green 55 65 51 56 71 53 63 77 46 53 77 
			 Birmingham Hodge Hill 49 60 52 41 54 43 34 41 61 52 50 
			 Birmingham Ladywood 30 33 36 43 34 33 35 26 34 35 40 
			 Birmingham Northfield 50 41 59 52 37 59 51 44 65 41 39 
			 Birmingham Perry Barr 54 46 63 59 51 48 48 58 62 64 53 
			 Birmingham Selly Oak 59 62 59 65 57 57 79 53 69 55 54 
			 Birmingham Sparkbrook and Small Heath 38 62 48 38 40 42 46 53 37 36 52 
			 Birmingham Yardley 48 67 43 52 48 52 48 60 53 53 47 
			 Bromsgrove 70 75 58 78 81 65 84 67 67 101 75 
			 Burton 79 55 53 73 32 63 81 55 94 92 66 
			 Cannock Chase 54 56 56 79 58 69 81 52 87 89 69 
			 Coventry North East 58 61 60 48 60 54 63 82 56 51 66 
			 Coventry North West 79 70 74 87 56 80 79 52 67 57 65 
			 Coventry South 72 60 48 48 63 78 48 71 76 61 76 
			 Dudley North 66 70 66 67 75 89 63 89 73 61 89 
			 Dudley South 61 61 57 64 62 60 77 76 61 74 71 
			 Halesowen and Rowley Regis 61 73 62 71 59 78 65 55 64 66 59 
			 Hereford 83 83 66 85 64 74 89 91 76 89 92 
			 Leominster 81 58 72 63 66 75 90 89 90 93 95 
			 Lichfield 50 60 67 73 55 71 63 42 120 82 85 
			 Ludlow 64 73 68 94 75 59 82 81 71 63 102 
			 Meriden 57 76 90 74 79 90 87 84 93 77 72 
			 Newcastle-under-Lyme 59 58 66 66 62 81 61 64 96 63 78 
			 Nuneaton 57 56 54 62 56 96 88 51 82 74 62 
			 Redditch 55 51 52 49 68 69 42 72 63 45 70 
			 Rugby and Kenilworth 71 96 83 69 83 94 65 87 100 65 102 
			 Shrewsbury and Atcham 55 69 92 84 85 97 68 79 80 81 94 
			 North Shropshire 75 59 69 80 79 73 91 83 74 113 74 
			 Solihull 72 102 109 81 87 102 86 114 91 101 93 
			 Stafford 57 57 57 64 82 71 66 68 117 68 74 
			 Staffordshire Moorlands 75 50 54 49 63 66 78 57 71 65 49 
			 South Staffordshire 60 64 55 57 88 60 75 98 98 94 105 
			 Stoke-on-Trent Central 53 62 41 40 44 46 66 64 38 60 54 
			 Stoke-on-Trent North 46 55 54 55 54 59 54 46 90 48 50 
			 Stoke-on-Trent South 64 69 66 54 73 58 62 110 50 51 92 
			 Stone 82 59 73 82 60 84 97 55 95 101 53 
			 Stourbridge 60 49 65 56 69 66 73 65 76 65 69 
			 Stratford-on-Avon 95 77 79 88 77 103 115 76 121 98 96 
			 Sutton Coldfield 77 80 90 80 93 79 67 78 92 69 103 
			 Tamworth 47 51 48 63 88 58 47 93 68 73 103 
			 Telford 31 48 50 54 43 52 41 36 67 52 56 
			 The Wrekin 44 47 76 64 49 63 73 72 70 82 63 
			 Walsall North 63 53 53 60 60 65 72 73 76 73 57 
			 Walsall South 48 52 52 56 67 46 63 64 47 67 52 
			 Warley 39 72 48 62 51 45 55 45 47 52 50 
			 Warwick and Leamington 86 78 70 73 99 75 103 99 74 94 89 
			 North Warwickshire 57 67 68 63 61 74 81 90 66 59 77 
			 West Bromwich East 43 48 54 46 49 57 48 36 67 47 58 
			 West Bromwich West 47 64 62 66 69 41 54 53 62 69 65 
			 Wolverhampton North East 52 50 55 53 50 47 70 65 64 65 61 
			 Wolverhampton South East 31 31 49 53 40 43 57 39 48 59 42 
			 Wolverhampton South West 51 67 58 62 72 72 58 77 44 85 85 
			 Worcester 64 50 78 62 73 66 73 57 78 65 73 
			 Mid Worcestershire 79 66 72 52 89 64 68 126 80 75 109 
			 West Worcestershire 69 73 74 81 66 67 71 78 88 88 64 
			 Wyre Forest 78 78 81 95 69 55 99 98 76 94 106

Central Office of Information: Conferences

Graham Stuart: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many  (a) away days and  (b) conferences that took place outside the Central Office of Information's (COI) buildings attended by civil servants in the COI there have been since 2005; and what the cost was of each.

Angela Smith: I have asked the chief executive of the Central Office of Information to reply to the hon. Member.
	 Letter from Mark Lund, dated 11 December 2009:
	on conferences that took place outside COI and attended by COI civil servants.
	The Central Office of Information (COI) does not hold a central record of away days held outside of COI buildings and attended by civil servants from COI.
	COI does hold records of conferences centrally but does not differentiate between attendance by civil servants from COI or those in the wider civil service.

Central Office of Information: Public Relations

Bob Neill: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Peterborough of 3 November 2009,  Official Report, columns 886-87W, on public relations 
	(1)  what the topic was of each contract awarded to the five firms; and at which diverse audience each was aimed;
	(2)  whether Travellers are classed as a culturally diverse audience for the purpose of the Framework Agreement; and at which culturally diverse audiences the marketing will be aimed.

Angela Smith: I have asked the chief executive on the Central Office of Information to reply to the hon. Member.
	 Letter from Mark Lund, dated 23 December 2009:
	As Chief Executive of the Central Office of Information (COI), I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question (308512/26) on the Public Relations Framework detailed below.
	Framework Agreement 2007/S 156-194886 relates to the Marketing Aimed at Culturally Diverse Audiences Framework outlined below which commenced in 2007.
	The framework comprises eight specialist agencies. It is multi-disciplined with advertising, PR, outreach/grassroots activity, sponsorship and partnership marketing. It covers a wide range of ethnic minorities, faith groups, gypsies and travellers, refugees and asylum seekers, and new arrivals to the UK. The framework is split into 5 Lots:
	1. Ethnic Minorities
	2. Faith Groups
	3. Gypsies  Travellers
	4. Refugees  Asylum Seekers
	5. Recent Arrivals
	Gypsies and Travellers are considered a culturally diverse audience, a minority audience in the UK that have a shared culture.
	A list of each contract awarded together with the topic and target audience is listed in the table below.
	
		
			  Campaign  Target audience 
			 Hepatitis C South Asian/Pakistani 
			 DH Change 4 Life Black African/South Asian 
			 National Blood Service Black African and Caribbean/South Asian 
			 LSC Skills For Life Black Caribbean/South Asian 
			 Census 2011 All ethnic minority groups 
			 FSA Money Guidance Ethnic minorities in the NW 
			 Fire Kills Re-tender South Asian/Somali/Polish 
			 Fire BME Recruitment South Asian/Black African and Caribbean 
			 RAF Recruitment South Asian/Black African and Caribbean 
			 DEFRA Illegal Food Imports Black/Middle Eastern/Chinese 
			 BIS: Pay and Work Rights Migrant Campaign Eastern European communities: Polish/Slovak/Lithuanian/Romanian/Bulgarian/Latvian/Roma 
			 LSC Careers Advice: Ethnic Advice Lines South Asian/French Arab/French African/Somali/Farsi/Polish 
			 Cabinet Office: Building Britain's Future Urban Youth 
			 NHSBT Organ Donation South Asian/Black African/Caribbean

Charities: Asylum

Vincent Cable: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what support her Department provides to charities working with destitute asylum seekers.

Angela Smith: The Cabinet Office does not hold information on support for charities working specifically with destitute asylum seekers. A number of programmes from the Office of the Third Sector are benefiting organisations working with asylum seekers which may include destitute asylum seekers. Examples of this are Grassroots Grants which provides small grants for organisations working with individuals and communities and the Community Assets Programme which funds the transfer and renovation of unused public sector property to the third sector.

Charity Commission: Political Activities

Andrew Tyrie: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office with reference to the answer of 19 October 2009,  Official Report, column 1290W, on the Charity Commission, for what reason the declaration of membership of  (a) the Labour Party and  (b) the Christian Socialist Movement made by the Chair of the Charity Commission on the Commission's website is not reflected in the declaration of political activity required by the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments which she made in July 2009; and if she will make a statement.

Angela Smith: The re-appointment of the Chair of the Charity Commission was undertaken in compliance with the Commissioner for Public Appointments' Code of Practice for Ministerial Appointments to Public Bodies (August 2005). The political activity questionnaire, which should be completed as part of the re-appointment process, asks for information about political activities and does not ask for personal information about voting preferences or membership of political parties.

Death: Cancer

Mark Hendrick: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the mortality rate from cancer was in  (a) 1997 and  (b) the latest period for which figures are available.

Angela Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Jil Matheson, dated December 2009:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking what the mortality rate from cancer was in (a) 1997 and (b) the latest period for which figures are available. (308661)
	The table attached provides the age-standardised mortality rate, where cancer was the underlying cause of death, for England and Wales, in (a) 1997 and (b) 2008 (the latest year available).
	
		
			  Table 1. Age-standardised mortality rate per 100,000 population,( 1, 2)  where cancer was the underlying cause of death,( 3)  England and Wales,( 4)  1997 and 2008( 5) -rate per 100,000 population 
			   Rate  95 per cent. confidence interval 
			 1997 196 (195-197) 
			 2008 173 (172-174) 
			 (1) Age-standardised mortality rates per 100,000 population, standardised to the European Standard Population. Age-standardised rates are used to allow comparison between populations which may contain different proportions of people of different ages. (2 )Confidence intervals are a measure of the statistical precision of an estimate and show the range of uncertainty around the estimated figure. Calculations based on small numbers of events are often subject to random fluctuations. As a general rule, if the confidence interval around one figure overlaps with the interval around another, we cannot say with certainty that there is more than a chance difference between the two figures. (3 )Cause of death for cancer was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) codes 140-208 for 1997 and Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes C00-C97 for 2008. (4) Figures for England and Wales include deaths of non-residents. (5) Figures are for deaths registered in each calendar year.

Departmental Art Works

Philip Hammond: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how much her Department spent on art works in the last 12 months.

Angela Smith: No expenditure has been incurred on art works in the last 12 months.

Departmental Conferences

Philip Hammond: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how much was spent by her Department and its agency on conferences they organised which were subsequently cancelled in each of the last three years; and what the title was of each such conference.

Angela Smith: The information requested is not centrally held and is therefore available only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Marketing

Nick Hurd: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the advertising, marketing and publicity budget is of the  (a) Real Help Now and  (b) Building Britain's Future campaign in 2009-10.

Angela Smith: Both Real Help Now and Building Britain's Future are cross-government campaigns.
	There is no specific advertising, marketing and publicity budget held within Cabinet Office for either Real Help Now or Building Britain's Future (BBF).
	Costs associated with Real Help Now and BBF for which Cabinet Office is liable have been met from the over arching departmental communications budget.
	To date, £112,282.50 of this budget has been committed to BBF activity and Cabinet Office has spent £105,704 (excluding VAT) on publicity and marketing for the Real Help Now campaign.

Departmental Pay

Kate Hoey: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many officials in her Department have received allowances to buy a second home in London in each of the last five years.

Angela Smith: No officials in the Cabinet Office have received an allowance to buy a second home in the last five years.

Departmental Plants

Grant Shapps: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how much No. 10 Downing Street spent on  (a) cut flowers and  (b) pot plants in 2008-09.

Angela Smith: The information requested is not readily available and is therefore available only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Sick Leave

Philip Hammond: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many days sickness absence were taken by staff in her Department and its agency in each of the last 12 months for which figures are available; and what the cost to her Department was of such absence.

Angela Smith: The Cabinet Office publishes reports on levels of sickness absence on a quarterly basis. These reports can be accessed at this website:
	http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/reports/absence.aspx
	Copies of the previous four quarterly reports have been placed in the Library of the House.
	Data on the total cost of individual staff absences could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Written Questions

John Mason: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many questions tabled for answer on a named day her Department received in each of the last 12 months; and to how many such questions her Department provided a substantive answer on the day named.

Tessa Jowell: 274 named day questions were tabled to Cabinet Office for the period 1 December 2008 to 30 November 2009. Of these 175 received substantive answers on the day.

Departmental Written Questions

Mark Harper: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many and what percentage of Parliamentary Questions tabled for written Answer by her Department on a named day in session 2008-09 received a substantive Answer on that day.

Tessa Jowell: 252 named day questions were tabled to Cabinet Office for the session 2008-09. Of these 157 received substantive answers on the day.

Flood Control

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office when she expects the Emergency Response and Recovery Guidance to be revised to reflect the new arrangements for recovery and Local Resilience Force, in accordance with recommendation 80 of the Pitt Report.

Angela Smith: The revised Emergency Response and Recovery Guidance was published in August 2009 on the Cabinet Office website at:
	http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/ukresilience/response.aspx

Floods

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office when she expects the National Hazards Team to conclude its review of critical infrastructure at risk from future floods; whether  (a) public and  (b) private (i) reservoir and (ii) dam safety will be included in that audit; and if she will make a statement.

Dawn Butler: The Natural Hazards Team in the Cabinet Office is developing a programme to improve the resilience of critical infrastructure and essential services to severe disruption from natural hazards.
	The Natural Hazards Team is co-ordinating the development of Sector Resilience Plans by the lead Government Department for each sector of national infrastructure. These plans are expected to set out the risks from flooding to the most critical sites (i.e. critical national infrastructure) in each infrastructure sector, and a programme of measures that is necessary to improve resilience. These initial sector resilience plans will include public and private reservoirs where the sites are deemed to be critical national infrastructure.
	The Natural Hazards Team will conclude its review of critical infrastructure and risks from natural hazards with the publication of a National Resilience Plan in late 2010. This plan will set out the Government's policy and standards for the resilience of critical infrastructure. It will be based upon the evidence submitted in Sector Resilience Plans and the responses to the current consultation on the draft Strategic Framework and Policy Statement on Improving the Resilience of Critical Infrastructure to Disruption from Natural Hazards.
	Following Sir Michael Pitt's recommendation 58, the draft Floods and Water Management Bill will include provisions relating to dam and reservoir safety.

Floods: Cumbria

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what role the National Hazards Team will play in recovery from the recent floods in Cumbria.

Dawn Butler: The main role of the Natural Hazards Team within the Cabinet Office is to develop a programme to improve the resilience of critical infrastructure and essential services to severe disruption from natural hazards.
	Members of the team shared information on critical national infrastructure at risk of flooding with regional and local responders at the onset of the recent flood emergency in Cumbria. Within Government, the Department for Communities and Local Government is leading on the recovery from the floods, including in conjunction with the lead Government Departments for each sector of national infrastructure, to ensure essential services are restored as quickly as possible; the Natural Hazards Team will be available to advise, if required.

Government Departments: Computer Software

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what proportion of  (a) her Department's and  (b) other Government departments' software was open source software (i) in February 2009 and (ii) at the latest date for which information is available.

Angela Smith: Information on the current and future use of open source software in my Department and in other Government Departments is not held centrally and can be collected only at disproportionate cost.
	The Cabinet Office follows the Government's Open Source Software (OSS) Policy (the most recent version was published in February 2009), which requires that Government consider OSS solutions alongside proprietary ones in IT procurements, and award contracts on a value-for-money basis. They do not therefore have plans in place to raise the level of OSS use, but rather will make software procurement decisions on a case-by-case basis.

Government Departments: Security

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many different intrusion detection systems operate across Government departments in guarding against computer hacking.

Angela Smith: It would not be in the interest of the UK's national security for Departments to give information on the specific systems used to protect their networks.
	The Security Policy Framework requires that Departments have effective information security policies and procedures in place including preventing unauthorised access to ICT systems. The Data Handling Report published in June 2008 requires that Departments conduct independent penetration testing of their systems to protect against hacking and other forms of malicious attack.

Hakluyt

Norman Baker: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office with reference to the answer of 5 November 2009,  Official Report, column 1228W, on Hakluyt, if she will publish the submission to the Minister of State setting out  (a) the (i) reasons and (ii) justifications for not providing the information requested in question 296746 and  (b) the estimated cost of providing the information requested, as required in accordance with section 7.28 of the Cabinet Office's Guide to Parliamentary Work.

Angela Smith: Officials' advice to Ministers is not normally disclosed. The previous question (296746) was responded to as disproportionate costs because the information requested is not held centrally. To obtain the information would have required contacting each management unit and then each management unit manually interrogating their records. This interrogation would have exceeded the disproportionate cost threshold of £750.

Intelligence Services: Finance

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office with reference to her Department's press release of 10 October 2007, what the outcome was of the most recent review of the Single Security and Intelligence Budget; and if she will make a statement.

Angela Smith: Information relating to the proceedings of Cabinet and Cabinet Committees, covering the Ministerial Committee on National Security, International Relations and Development, including the number of meetings held and topics discussed, is generally not disclosed as to do so could harm the frankness and candour of internal discussion.
	The Security and Intelligence Agencies represents the largest component of the Single Security and Intelligence Budget. It has been the policy of successive Governments not to reveal details of the Security and Intelligence Agencies' spending, beyond what is already published.

National School of Government: Valuation Office

Bob Neill: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what courses representatives of the Valuation Office Agency attended at the National School of Government in  (a) 2006-07,  (b) 2007-08 and  (c) 2008-09.

Angela Smith: This is a matter for the National School of Government. I have asked the Principal and Chief Executive to assist by writing to the hon. Gentleman.
	 Letter from Rod Clark, dated December 2009:
	In the Written Ministerial Statement to the House on 9 January 2007 (Official Report Col 5WS), the then Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office (Pat McFadden MP) announced that the National School of Government was now a Non Ministerial Department. Consequently, the Minister for the Cabinet Office has asked me to reply to your Parliamentary Questions about the National School of Government.
	The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) has sent staff on a number of events at the National School of Government. A copy of the table which sets out the events will be placed in the House Library.

Pay

John Battle: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if she will establish a commission to inquire into high pay; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: I have been asked to reply.
	Pre-Budget report 2009 announced a set of fundamental reforms for pay-setting of senior public sector staff focusing on:
	New scrutiny of pay levels above £150,000 and bonuses above £50,000
	New requirements to publish salaries of senior public sector staff to increase transparency and accountability
	The Prime Minister will ask Bill Cockburn as chair of the Senior Salaries Review Body to lead a review of senior pay across the public sector, reporting by Budget 2010.

Public Expenditure

Lynne Jones: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many civil servants earned over £150,000 in the last 12 months; and what the total monetary value was of the budgets of  (a) central government departments,  (b) agencies and non-departmental public bodies and  (c) local government.

Angela Smith: The information requested in relation to the number of civil servants earning over £150,000 falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	The information requested in relation to budgets of  (a) central government departments,  (b) agencies and non-departmental public bodies and  (c) local government is a matter for the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
	 Letter from Jil Matheson, dated December 2009:
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning, how many civil servants earned over £150,000 in the last 12 months; what the total monetary value was of the budgets of (a) central government departments, (b) agencies and non-departmental public bodies and (c) local government. (307617)
	The Office for National Statistics collects the annual salaries of civil servants, as part of the Annual Civil Service Employment Survey (ACSES). At 31 March 2008, 100 civil servants earned over £150,000.
	Information requested with respect to the total monetary value of the budgets of (a) central government departments, (b) agencies and non departmental public bodies and (c) local government is a matter for the Chancellor of the Exchequer and not the Office for National Statistics.

UK Statistics Authority: Hotels

Anne Main: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how much the UK Statistics Authority has spent on hotel accommodation for its staff in each of the last five years.

Angela Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Jil Matheson, dated 16 December 2009:
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning how much the UK Statistics Authority has spent on hotel accommodation for its staff in each of the last five years. 305705
	We changed our accounting system in 2006 and do not have complete information prior to that date. Prior to that date we can only provide spend made with our main supplier.
	
		
			  £ 000 
			   Main supplier  Other suppliers 
			 2004-05 586 n/a 
			 2005-06 505 n/a 
			 2006-07 536 184 
			 2007-08 545 211 
			 2008-09 496 216

UK Statistics Authority: Internet

David Davies: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what redesigns of websites operated by the UK Statistics Authority have been carried out since 27 June 2007; and what the  (a) cost to the public purse and  (b) date of completion of each such redesign was.

Angela Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Jil Matheson, dated December 2009:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question requesting to list the redesigns of websites operated by the UK Statistics Authority since 27 June 2007; and what the (a) cost to the public purse and (b) date of completion of each such redesign was. (306205)
	The Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007 lead to the creation, on 1 April 2008, of the UK Statistics Authority, of which the Office for National Statistics is the Executive Office. On the same date, the Authority launched a new Publication Hub which provides a single portal to new National Statistics releases. This was part of a wider programme of web delivery activities undertaken by ONS, including work to redesign the ONS website and supporting back office processes. The cost of this wider programme, incurred up to financial year-end 2008-09, was £4.643m.
	Ongoing enhancements and redesign of elements of the Publication Hub have been undertaken by ONS on behalf of the UK Statistics Authority, as part of a wider Web Programme. This resulted in an enhanced version on 27 July 2009. The costs associated with this amount to £218,000.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Carers' Benefits

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when her Department first determined that there would be no cash losers from the implementation of reforms proposed in the Green Paper, Shaping the future of care together; and if she will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 14 December 2009
	As we said in the Green Paper, if we reform disability benefits, anyone receiving an affected benefit at the time of reform would continue to receive the equivalent level of support and protection thereby not experiencing a cash loss as a result of the reforms.

Children: Maintenance

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if she will review her Department's policy of excluding councillors' allowances from earnings in the calculation of child maintenance liabilities; and if she will make a statement.

Helen Goodman: We are still considering how allowances will be treated in the future scheme, currently planned for introduction in 2011. Maintenance calculations will be largely based on gross income information, received directly from Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs. Future scheme regulations to be laid before Parliament between late 2010 and early 2011 will include definitions of the income to be taken into account. These regulations will of course be subject to public consultation.
	There are no plans to review this policy in respect of the current statutory child maintenance scheme.

Council Tax

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of households were in receipt of a 100 per cent. council tax reduction on the latest date for which figures are available.

Helen Goodman: The estimated number of people receiving 100 per cent. council tax benefit is 4.3 million, constituting 17.1 per cent. of households in Great Britain.
	 Notes:
	1. Percentages are rounded to one decimal place.
	2. The caseload figure is rounded to the nearest one hundred thousand.
	 Source:
	Single Housing Benefit Extract (SHBE): September 2009.

Departmental Billing

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of invoices submitted to her Department have been paid within 10 days in each month since October 2008; and if she will make a statement.

Jim Knight: DWP began collecting 10-day payment performance information from November 2008. DWP 10-day payment performance, by volume and as a percentage of all payments made for all of its suppliers, from November 2008 to the present date is as follows:
	
		
			   Volume of invoices  Percentage paid within 10 days 
			  2008   
			 November 44,457 70 
			 December 45,505 64 
			
			  2009   
			 January 43,915 73 
			 February 58,281 86 
			 March 61,768 92 
			 April 50,393 94 
			 May 46,448 96 
			 June 63,855 96 
			 July 67,597 96 
			 August 59,798 95 
			 September 66,170 97 
			 October 80,344 97 
			 November 90,070 97

Departmental Internet

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what redesigns of websites operated by  (a) her Department and  (b) its agencies have taken place since 27 June 2007; and what the (i) cost to the public purse and (ii) date of completion of each such redesign was.

Jim Knight: Since 27 June 2007 the following websites operated by this Department or its Agencies have been redesigned:
	
		
			  Completion  Website  Cost (£000) 
			 June 2009 DWP Corporate 216 
			 March 2008 Office for Disability Issues 147

Departmental Theft

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many officials of  (a) her Department and  (b) its agencies have (i) been reprimanded, (ii) had their contract of employment terminated and (iii) been prosecuted for theft of departmental property in each of the last three years; and what items were stolen in each case.

Jim Knight: The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) records the numbers of staff disciplined for theft under the general heading of fraud, theft and loss of DWP funds. To extract more detailed information from individual records under this category could be done only at disproportionate cost.
	The number of people disciplined for fraud, theft and loss to DWP funds in each of the last three years is as follows:
	
		
			   Business 
			   Child Support Agency  Corporate Shared Services  Jobcentre Plus  Pensions, Disability and Carers Service  DWP total 
			 2006-07 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 2007-08 0 1 9 0 10 
			 2008-09 1 1 9 2 13 
		
	
	Information on how many officials have been prosecuted for theft of departmental property in each of the last three years, and what items were stolen in each case, is not available in the exact format requested; such information as is available is set out in the following table which shows the number of staff convicted in the last three years for theft of cash, consumables or instruments of payment that were subsequently cashed.
	
		
			   Items stolen  Number of staff convicted 
			 April 2006 to March 2007 Cash 2 
			  Girocheques 2 
			
			 April 2007 to March 2008 Girocheques 2 
			  Pre-paid envelopes 1 
			
			 April 2008 to March 2009 - 0

Departmental Translation Services

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much was spent by her Department on providing translation services for its customers in each of the last 12 years.

Jim Knight: The DWP provides a range of language translation services for customers across Great Britain (as Northern Ireland is excluded), namely:
	1. Face to Face
	2. Telephone.
	3. Translating by a range of services which includes the translation of departmental information leaflets and other documents that are provided to customers in a range of ethnic languages, audio and Braille, as well as all publications for Welsh speaking customers living in Wales.
	4. We are also able to offer an ad hoc service to convert documents into Easy Read format.
	The contractual arrangements for the services have been developed over a number of years and as a result spend has not been applicable for some of these services in each of the last five years or data have not been able to be gathered for spend during some years. Disproportionate cost would be incurred in trying to identify such spend.
	We are also unable to provide data prior to 2003-04 as data were not held centrally prior to then.
	The range of services also includes the translation of departmental information leaflets that are provided to customers into a range of ethnic languages, as well as all publications for Welsh-speaking customers.
	NDPB's have access to our frameworks but we do not hold centrally any data relating to their specific spend, if any, via these services. To ascertain this would incur disproportionate cost.
	The information requested is given in the following table:
	
		
			  £ 
			  Type of translation service  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			 Face to face and telephone 2,643,448 2,967,756 3,443,334 4,496,008 3,515,722 3,761,765 
			 Ethnic document translation (1)n/a n/a 120,720 267,500 134,945 (2)459,554 
			 Welsh 24,973 30,855 20,766 50,759 65,789 66,755 
			 Braille n/a n/a n/a n/a 45,309 59,522 
			 Audio n/a n/a n/a n/a 35,572 33,397 
			 Easy Read n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Totals 2,668,421 2,998,611 3,584,820 4,814,267 3,797,337 4,380,993 
			 (1) Not available without incurring disproportionate cost as data not held centrally or are combined within other category data and not possible to separate. (2) This figure includes all translation spend for the International Pensions Centre (IPC) which previously was not held centrally-total £381,370.59 for 2008-09.

Employment and Support Allowance

Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what her Department's policy is on referring to an independent advocate those persons in need of support when applying for employment and support allowance.

Jim Knight: I refer my hon. Friend to the written answer I gave to the hon. Member for Torbay (Mr. Sanders) on 2 November 2009,  Official Report, column 724W.

Employment and Support Allowance: Medical Examinations

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many appeals against an original outcome of a work capability assessment have been upheld to date.

Jonathan R Shaw: The most recent data published on appeal outcomes following a Work Capability Assessment was published in October 2009 and is provided as follows:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/workingage/esa_wca/esa_wca_arc.asp
	
		
			  Work Capability Assessment appeals heard on 'Fit for Work' decisions-data to end of August 2009 
			   Number 
			 Appeals heard 4,900 
			 DWP decision upheld 3,300 
			 Decision in favour of appellant 1,500 
			  Notes: 1. Includes clerical assessments, we can infer that an appeal that links to a clerical assessment was very likely to be against a 'fit for work' decision. 2. Due to the time it takes for appeals to be submitted to Tribunal Service and heard, a very limited volume of appeals heard data are held currently. Volumes will increase in the coming months as more appeals are processed giving a more robust picture of appeal volumes and outcomes.

Employment Schemes: Tourettes Syndrome

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what provision is made in the training of disability employment advisers to enable them to recognise and support people with Tourette syndrome seeking employment; and if she will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 15 December 2009
	The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Darra Singh. I have asked him to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Darra Singh:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question concerning what provision is made in the training of disability employment advisers to enable them to recognise and support people with Tourette syndrome seeking employment. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	Disability Employment Advisers (DEAs) are not specifically trained to recognise customers with Tourette Syndrome, however they are equipped to identify and either deal with or signpost customers to specialist help to address a diverse range of circumstances. Jobcentre Plus policy is to develop its people with the skills required to support a range of customers and to respect their individual needs.
	The learning programme for Jobcentre Plus DEAs focuses on customers requiring more extensive support regarding their personal circumstances and the challenges they may have in their ability to look for and move into sustainable employment.

Equality 2025

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent discussions  (a) Ministers and  (b) officials in her Department have had with representatives of Equality 2025; and if she will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 30 November 2009
	Equality 2025 is an advisory non-departmental public body established in response to a recommendation in the 2005 report by the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit Improving the Life Chances of Disabled People. It is sponsored by (but is not part of) the Office for Disability Issues, part of the Department for Work and Pensions.
	I meet with the chair and deputy chair of Equality 2025 on a quarterly basis; the most recent meeting took place on 30 November. In addition, the chair and some members of Equality 2025 recently accompanied me to a number of events around the country. I also attended, and spoke at, Equality 2025's Annual Public Meeting in October 2009.
	Meetings take place between Equality 2025 members and officials within the Office for Disability Issues and the Department for Work and Pensions on a range of matters, such as the UN Convention on Disability Rights, the Independent Living Strategy, the Hate Crime Strategy, the Equality Bill, and communication strategies. Equality 2025 members are also members of the ad hoc advisory groups supporting the Independent Living Strategy and Right to Control project.
	As a cross-government group, Equality 2025 also meets with Ministers and officials beyond DWP. The chair has a standing invitation to the Life Chances ministerial group which I chair and is attended by Ministers from each 'Life Chances' department. The group meets quarterly. Equality 2025 members also have bi-lateral discussions with officials across Government in support of the Equality 2025 Workplan and in response to requests for advice from Government Departments.
	More formally, the Minister for Disability and I have recently been reviewing the work of Equality 2025 and its achievements over the last three years. With the agreement of Equality 2025, we are now taking the opportunity to further develop its strategic role as an 'expert group' and to streamline its size. Instead of running regional engagement events to find out disabled people's views, the group will build strong links with key disability organisations, umbrella groups and others across the United Kingdom. This will enable them to acquire a more representative picture of disabled people's views.

Future Jobs Fund

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what progress has been made towards the target of 10,000 Future Jobs Fund jobs being green jobs.

Jim Knight: One fifth of all jobs created by rounds two and three of the Future Jobs Fund are green jobs. The information is not yet available for other rounds.

Future Jobs Fund

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what progress has been made towards the target of 15,000 Future Jobs Fund jobs created by social enterprises.

Jim Knight: We know that just over a sixth of all jobs created by rounds two and three of the Future Jobs Fund are in social enterprises. This information is not yet available for other rounds.

Future Jobs Fund

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions by what mechanism the quality of Future Jobs Fund bids was assessed.

Jim Knight: The quality of Future Jobs Fund bids is assessed in four stages: initially against minimum criteria, followed by a regional assessment against six qualitative criteria. The scores are then moderated by a panel including a trade union representative, before being agreed by the Regional Minister (or Secretary of State in Scotland and Wales). Finally, each bid's score is quality-checked by the central team, who moderate the scores across regions to a set of recommendations. A Central Assessment Panel consisting of officials from the Department for Work and Pensions (Project team, Finance and Commercial), Jobcentre Plus, HM Treasury, the Department of Communities and Local Government, Wales Office and Scotland Office then review the bids and make their recommendations to departmental Ministers.

Future Jobs Fund

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what procedure her Department has established to monitor and record the number of weeks a young person remains in a job created under the Future Jobs Fund; and if she will make a statement.

Jim Knight: To monitor length of time spent on Future Jobs Fund we will be using data returned monthly by employers on start and end dates for each customer referred to them.

Health and Safety Executive: Public Relations

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what payments the Health and Safety Executive has made to  (a) Weber Shandwick and  (b) Mandate Communications/AS Biss in the last 12 months for which figures are available; for what purpose; and if she will place in the Library a copy of the contracts under which such payments have been made.

Jonathan R Shaw: HSE has retained Weber Shandwick on a number of projects over the last 12 months. Across those projects, Weber Shandwick has provided the services of: public relations support, support with key stakeholder engagement, consultation, event production and national media support across Scotland, England and Wales. Those projects were:
	HSE strategy consultation and launch
	Agricultural safety campaign
	Lord Gill Inquiry (ICL Plastics explosion)
	Tower Crane register consultation
	Caiman Commission
	The combined cost of this work is £323,722.82.
	It is not appropriate to place copies of the relevant contracts in the Library of the House, for reasons of commercial confidentiality.
	HSE made no payments to Mandate/AS Biss in the last 12 months.

Housing Benefit

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of social tenants were receiving housing benefit on the latest date for which figures are available.

Helen Goodman: 69.2 per cent. of social tenants were receiving housing benefit in Great Britain at August 2009.
	 Source:
	Single Housing Benefit Extract (SHBE).

Housing Benefit

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to the answer of 2 November 2009,  Official Report, column 771W, on housing benefit: travelling people, what methodology is used to calculate housing benefit for those who live in mobile homes or caravans.

Helen Goodman: Like any tenant or licensee, the rental costs of those liable to pay a social sector landlord are generally met in full, while those liable to a private sector landlord are individually referred to the rent officer.

Incapacity Benefit

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many incapacity benefit claimants there were in each year since 1997; and how many of them  (a) reached retirement age,  (b) died and  (c) found a job in each of those years.

Jonathan R Shaw: The available information on the number of incapacity benefit claimants who reached retirement age in each year since 1997 is provided in the table. Information on the number of claimants who died or found employment in each year is not available.
	
		
			  At May each year  Total caseload  Total numbers of claimants who are female aged 59 or male aged 64 
			 1997 2,837,900 (1)- 
			 1998 2,784,600 (1)- 
			 1999 2,744,400 (1)- 
			 2000 2,728,090 119,250 
			 2001 2,795,340 122,678 
			 2002 2,807,620 127,804 
			 2003 2,815,660 125,083 
			 2004 2,814,710 122,806 
			 2005 2,783,720 117,610 
			 2006 2,730,000 127,038 
			 2007 2,685,320 123,984 
			 2008 2,637,560 116,873 
			 2009 2,374,210 108,952 
			 (1) Number of claimants who are female aged 59 or male aged 64 is not available for May 1997 to May 1999.  Notes: 1. May 1997 to May 1999 figures are rounded to the nearest 100 and subject to sampling variation. 2. May 1997 to May 1999 figures have been uprated using 5 per cent. proportions against 100 per cent. WPLS totals. 3. May 2000 to May 2009 figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 4. Data do not include claimants of employment and support allowance introduced from October 2008.  Sources: May 1997 to May 1999 figures from Information Directorate 5 per cent. samples. May 2000-May 2009 figures from Information Directorate 100 per cent. samples. Total caseload data are published at www.nomisweb.co.uk from May 1998.

Industrial Diseases: Compensation

Michael Clapham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to the answer of 10 November 2009,  Official Report, columns 298-9W, on industrial diseases: compensation, if she will make the guidance provided to ATOS Healthcare doctors available to the coal mining trade unions and their solicitors.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 3 December 2009
	As part of a programme for approved health care professionals (HCPs) to carry out medical assessments, the Department for Work and Pensions has produced Update to Standard-Prescribed Disease A14 (PD A14), a copy of which has been placed in the Library.
	The Department is also in the process of producing a further distance learning guide PD A14 Osteoarthritis of the Knee in Miners (MED-PDA14-001). As this guide is due for future publication, it is at the moment exempt from release. The guide will be available to interested parties upon publication.

Industrial Health and Safety: Hazardous Substances

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment the Health and Safety Executive has made of BP's contract to lease the Oikos terminal on Canvey Island; and if she will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 14 December 2009
	The Health and Safety Executive has made no assessment of BP Oil UK Ltd's contract to lease storage facilities at Oikos Storage Ltd's site on Canvey Island.
	It is not the HSE's role to assess this and will assess any significant changes that are made to the site and to the sites' CO commercial contracts. HSE's role is to monitor safety at this site. HSE will continue to do MAH safety report as a result of the implementation of this contract.

Industrial Health and Safety: Hazardous Substances

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what safety measures will be put in place by BP for the duration of its contract to lease the Oikos terminal on Canvey Island.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 16 December 2009
	Oikos Storage Ltd. will remain the operator of the fuel storage facility on Canvey Island for the purposes of the Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations 1999 (COMAH) and will have overall responsibility for safety throughout the duration the contract with BP Oil UK Ltd. As a user of the facility to store fuel, BP Oil UK Ltd. will be obliged to co-operate with Oikos Storage to assist and enable them to meet their responsibilities as COMAH operator.
	Oikos Storage Ltd. will be required under the COMAH to put in place all measures necessary to prevent major accidents and limit their consequences to persons and the environment. This will include implementing and maintaining the minimum safety and environmental standards for fuel storage sites that have been developed in response to the Major Incident Investigation Board recommendations following the explosion and fires at the Buncefield fuel storage site in December 2005, and recently published in the Process Safety Leadership Group's (PSLG) final report. The PSLG report is available on the HSE website.

Jobseeker's Allowance: Leeds

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average length of time was for which claimants resident in Leeds West constituency were in receipt of jobseeker's allowance in  (a) each of the last 12 months and  (b) each of the last five years.

Angela Smith: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
	 Letter from Jil Matheson, dated December 2009:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking what the average length of time was for which claimants resident in Leeds West constituency were in receipt of jobseeker's allowance in (a) each of the last 12 months and (b) each of the last five years. (306502)
	The number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) is taken from the Jobcentre Plus administrative system. The length of a claim has been defined as the time between the start of an individual's claim and the count date in each reference month. Table 1 shows the median length of live claims during the last 12 months up to the latest available period in October 2009, and for October of each of the last 5 years.
	National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at:
	http://www.nomisweb.co.uk.
	
		
			  Table 1: Median length of claims of jobseeker's allowance of persons( 1)  resident in Leeds West constituency 
			   Median length of claim (months ) 
			 October 2004 13.4 
			 October 2005 17.5 
			 October 2006 20.6 
			 October 2007 17.2 
			 October 2008 13.3 
			 November 2008 12.8 
			 December 2008 11.9 
			 January 2009 12.3 
			 February 2009 12.6 
			 March 2009 13.5 
			 April 2009 13.8 
			 May 2009 16.4 
			 June 2009 17.5 
			 July 2009 17.4 
			 August 2009 17.4 
			 September 2009 17.8 
			 October 2009 17.2 
			 (1) Length of claim data is only available for computerized claims, which account for 99.7 per cent. of all claims.  Source: Jobcentre Plus Administrative System

Low Incomes: Water Charges

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the effect of levels of water charges on households in poverty.

Jim Knight: The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions has not held recent discussions with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the effect of levels of water charges on households in poverty. However the Department for Work and Pensions has been contributing during this year to the Independent Review of Water Charging, commissioned by Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs and the Welsh Assembly. The review team, led by Anna Walker, published its final report on 8 December. A copy of the report has been placed in the Library.

Means-Tested Benefits

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate she has made of the number and proportion of  (a) pensioners and  (b) working age adults (i) with and (ii) without children who have received (A) means-tested benefits and (B) more than 50 per cent. of their income from means-tested benefits in (1) 1979, (2) 1983, (3) 1987, (4) 1992, (5) 1997, (6) 2001, (7) 2005 and (8) the latest year for which figures are available; and if she will make a statement.

Angela Eagle: The available information is in the following tables.
	
		
			   Number of pensioner benefit units in receipt of any income related benefits  Percentage of pensioner benefit units in receipt of any income related benefits  Number of pensioner benefit units with more than 50  per cent.  of their income from income related benefits  Percentage of pensioner  benefit units with more than 50 per cent.  of their income from income related benefits 
			 1997-98 2,600,000 37 300,000 4 
			 2001-02 2,300,000 32 300,000 4 
			 2005-06 2,600,000 35 300,000 4 
			 2007-08 2,500,000 33 300,000 4 
		
	
	
		
			   Number of working age benefit units (with children) in receipt of any income related benefits  Percentage of working age benefit units (with children) in receipt of any income related benefits  Number of working age benefit units (with children) with more than 50  per cent.  of their income from income related benefits  Percentage of working age benefit units (with children) with more than 50  per cent.  of their income from income related benefits 
			 1997-98 2,100,000 30 1,300,000 19 
			 2001-02 1,600,000 23 1,100,000 15 
			 2005-06 1,500,000 21 900,000 12 
			 2007-08 1,500,000 20 800,000 10 
		
	
	
		
			   Number of working age benefit units (without children) in receipt of any income related benefits  Percentage of working age benefit units (without children) in receipt of any income related benefits  Number of working age benefit units (witho ut children) with more than 50 per cent.  of their income from income related benefits  Percentage of working age benefit units (without children) with more than 50  per cent.  of their income from income related benefits 
			 1997-98 2,300,000 15 1,300,000 9 
			 2001-02 1,900,000 12 1,100,000 7 
			 2005-06 2,000,000 12 1,200,000 7 
			 2007-08 2,000,000 12 1,200,000 7 
			  Notes: 1. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 100,000. Percentages have been rounded to the nearest per cent. 2. A benefit unit is defined as a single adult or a couple living as married and any dependent children. 3. Income-related benefits include: Back-to-work bonus, extended payment of council tax benefit, extended payment of housing benefit, income support, pension credit, housing benefit, council tax benefit, rates rebate, disability working allowance, social fund grant for funeral expenses, social fund grant for maternity expenses, jobseeker's allowance (income-based), community care grants, return to work credit, child maintenance bonus. tax credits are excluded. 4. The Family Resources Survey is a nationally representative sample of approximately 26,000 households. Since 2002-03 the FRS has covered the United Kingdom; prior to 2002-03 the FRS covered Great Britain. 5. Part of the fall in the number and percentage of working age benefit units with children in receipt of at least one income-related benefit between 1997-98 and 2001-02 may be explained by the replacement of family credit with tax credits in 1999. Tax credits are excluded from the definition of income-related benefits in these tables. 6. The Family Resources Survey is known to under-record benefit receipt so the estimates presented should be treated with caution.  Source: The Family Resources Survey

Members: Correspondence

David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when she expects to reply to the letter of 3 November 2009 from the hon. Member for Walsall, North concerning a constituent.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 8 December 2009
	A reply was sent to my hon. Friend on 16 December 2009.

New Deal for Lone Parents

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of participants in the New Deal for Lone Parents have  (a) undertaken a work trial and  (b) undertaken a work trial for six weeks.

Jim Knight: The information requested is not available.

New Deal Schemes: Wales

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people have entered employment as a result of participating in the New Deal in (a) Newport East constituency and (b) Wales in each year since its introduction.

Jim Knight: The available information can be found in the following tables:
	
		
			  Ne w d eal: Jobs gained, Newport, East parliamentary constituency 
			   Number (thousand) 
			 1998 160 
			 1999 380 
			 2000 330 
			 2001 310 
			 2002 320 
			 2003 420 
			 2004 540 
			 2005 540 
			 2006 470 
			 2007 490 
			 2008 360 
			 2009 100 
			 Total 4,410 
		
	
	
		
			  New deal: Jobs gained, Wales 
			   Number (thousand) 
			 1998 5,740 
			 1999 13,170 
			 2000 12,610 
			 2001 13,790 
			 2002 17,200 
			 2003 20,230 
			 2004 22,240 
			 2005 20,320 
			 2006 16,930 
			 2007 18,210 
			 2008 16,560 
			 2009 5,660 
			 Total 182,660 
			  Notes:  1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.  2. The latest new deal figures will be affected by the introduction of the new jobseekers regime and flexible new deal (gradual implementation started from April 2009). More information is available on the employment programme statistics landing page.  3. The year means the calendar year the job was gained.  4. Some additional disclosure control has also been applied.  5. Totals may not sum due to rounding.  6. The latest data available are to May 2009.  7. The total number of jobs gained refers to the sum of all jobs (spells) obtained through new deal for young people, new deal for 25-plus, new deal for lone parents, new deal for disabled people, new deal for 50-plus and new deal for partners.  8. Spells are not available for new deal 50-plus and new deal for partners so individual level data are used instead.  9. Participants may have had more than one spell on new deal.   Source:  Department for Work and Pensions, Information Directorate.

Pensioners: Poverty

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners in  (a) Chesterfield constituency,  (b) Derbyshire and  (c) England her Department estimated to be in absolute poverty at the latest date for which information is available.

Angela Eagle: holding answer 15 December 2009
	Estimates of poverty, published in the Households Below Average Income series, only allow a breakdown of the overall number of people in poverty at Government office region level. Therefore, information for the Chesterfield constituency and Derbyshire region are not available.
	The Government use a basket of three key thresholds of income, after housing costs, to measure pensioner poverty. Absolute poverty is referred to as 60 per cent. of 1998-99 median income uprated in line with prices.
	The latest information for the East Midlands Government office region is based on the three year average from 2005 to 2008, and shows that 100,000 pensioners (11 per cent. of pensioners in the region) have incomes falling below the absolute poverty threshold. The latest information for England shows that 800,000 pensioners (9 per cent. of pensioners) have incomes falling below the absolute poverty threshold.
	 Notes
	1. These statistics are based on Households Below Average Income (HBAI) data, sourced from the Family Resources Survey (FRS). The reference period for FRS figures is single financial years. Three sample years have been combined for regional statistics as single year estimates are subject to volatility.
	2. Small changes in estimates from year to year, particularly at the bottom of the income distribution, may not be significant in view of data uncertainties.
	3. Numbers of pensioners have been rounded to the nearest 100,000, while proportions of pensioners in low-income households have been rounded to the nearest percentage point.

Pensions

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if she will estimate the total savings to her Department against expenditure on  (a) pension credit,  (b) housing benefit and  (c) council tax benefit consequent on a 2.5 per cent. increase in 2010-11 in (i) additional pension, (ii) increments to basic pension, (iii) increments to additional pension, (iv) increments to graduated retirement benefit, (v) increments to the inheritable lump sum, (vi) contracted-out deduction from additional pension in respect of pre-April 1988 contracted-out earnings, (vii) contracted-out deduction from additional pension in respect of contracted-out earnings from April 1988 to 1997, (viii) graduated retirement benefit, (ix) increase of long-term incapacity for age, (x) basic pension addition at the age of 80 years, (xi) increase of long-term incapacity for age and (xii) invalidity allowance (transitional) for state pension recipients.

Angela Eagle: The information requested is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Personal Accounts

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions from what budgets funding for the proposed personal accounts will be drawn.

Angela Eagle: The cost of establishing the personal accounts scheme is currently being met via a loan from the Department for Work and Pensions. The loan will be repaid by the trustee corporation through charges levied on scheme members.

Poverty

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what definitions of poverty are used in her Department; and if she will make a statement.

Helen Goodman: It is generally accepted that low income is central to any poverty measurement. Definitions of low income households are set out in the annual National Statistics publication 'Households Below Average Income'. This reports numbers of individuals in households below or persistently below 50 per cent., 60 per cent. and 70 per cent. of median household income both before and after deducting housing costs.
	The public service agreement (PSA) 17, 'Tackle poverty and promote greater independence and wellbeing in later life', sets out indicators of pensioner poverty for which the Department for Work and Pensions is responsible alongside a range of other non-poverty indicators which are shared between the Department for Work and Pensions and other Government Departments. As no single measure captures all aspects of poverty, the PSA includes a range of indicators related to low income for pensioners. These are relative low income (below 50 and 60 per cent. contemporary median household income), and absolute low income (below 60 per cent. of 1998-99 median income uprated in line with prices). Further information is given in the Government's PSA Delivery Agreement 17, which is available in the Library.
	The joint PSA 9 between the Treasury, the Department for Work and Pensions and the Department for Children, Schools and Families to halve the number of children in poverty by 2010-11, on the way to eradicating child poverty by 2020, sets out indicators of child poverty. These are relative low income (below 60 per cent. of contemporary median household income), absolute low income (below 60 per cent. of 1998-99 median income uprated in line with prices), and combined low income and material deprivation (based on below 70 per cent. of contemporary median household income). The Child Poverty Bill includes targets on these three measures and, in addition, a target will also be set using a persistent poverty measure (below 60 per cent. of median income in three or four out of the last four years). The indicators of child poverty reflect the fact that income is a key aspect of child poverty. The combined low income and material deprivation indicator provides a wider measure of families' living standards. The latest version of the Child Poverty Bill (10 December 2009) is available from the Public Bill Office. Further information is given in the conclusions document of the Department's 'Measuring Child Poverty' consultation, which is available in the Library.

Poverty: West Yorkshire

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of  (a) adults and  (b) children were living in poverty in (i) England, (ii) the West Yorkshire region and (iii) Leeds West constituency in each year since 1997.

Helen Goodman: Specific information regarding low income for the UK is available in Households Below Average Income 1994/95 to 2007/08. This annual report, which is a National Statistics publication, includes the numbers and proportions of individuals, children, working age adults and pensioners with incomes below 50 per cent., 60 per cent. and 70 per cent. of median income, and the proportions in persistent poverty. For children, it also contains a measure of combined low income and material deprivation.
	Estimates of poverty, published in the households below average income series, only allow a breakdown of the overall number of people in poverty at Government office region level. Therefore, information for the Leeds, West constituency and West Yorkshire region are not available. The Government are in the process of developing a child poverty indicator for use at the local level within the local area agreements; capturing children in households in receipt of out of work benefits or in receipt of tax credits where their reported income is less than 60 per cent. of median income.
	The information covering parts  (a),  (b) and (i) of the question is given in the following table for periods where data are available.
	
		
			  Proportion of adults and children who are living in households with less than 60 per cent. of contemporary median income, before housing costs, England, 1997-98 to 2007-08 
			  Percentage 
			   Adults  Children 
			 1997-98 17 26 
			 1998-99 17 26 
			 1999-2000 17 25 
			 2000-01 17 23 
			 2001-02 17 23 
			 2002-03 16 22 
			 2003-04 16 22 
			 2004-05 16 21 
			 2005-06 16 22 
			 2006-07 17 22 
			 2007-08 17 22

Social Security Benefits

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much on average was received by an individual claimant of  (a) incapacity benefit,  (b) housing benefit and  (c) income support weekly in the latest period for which figures are available.

Jonathan R Shaw: The most recent available information is in the table. Figures relate to the weekly amount of benefit paid.
	
		
			  Average weekly amount of income support, incapacity benefit/severe disablement allowance and housing benefit 
			   £ 
			 Income support (IS) 85.17 
			 Incapacity benefit/severe disablement allowance (IB/SDA) 95.23 
			 Housing benefit (HB) 81.41 
			  Notes: 1. The amount of IB/SDA and income support is affected by the introduction in April 2003 of child tax credit. From that date there were no new child dependency increases awarded to IS claimants, although existing CDIs were transitionally protected. 2. Average amounts are shown as pounds per week and rounded to the nearest penny. 3. IB/SDA excludes credit only cases and also excludes employment and support allowance. 4. Average weekly amounts will include some claims relating to partners and other dependents.  Sources: (HB) Single Housing Benefit Extract (SHBE) taken in August 2009. (IS and IB/SDA) DWP Information Directorate: Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study as at May 2009.

Social Security Benefits: Autism

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps her Department is taking to assist people with autism when applying for benefits and seeking employment.

Jonathan R Shaw: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Darra Singh. I have asked him to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.

State Retirement Pensions

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate she has made of the average net change in income of a pensioner receiving no more than the basic state pension in each year since 1997.

Angela Eagle: Pensioners receiving no more than the basic state pension have been defined as those individual pensioners whose total individual income was below the basic state pension threshold for each relevant year.
	The information that is available is shown in the following table. Figures are presented in 2007-08 prices in order to allow comparison over time. The information has been derived from the Family Resources survey and is presented as a three year average to help take account of small sample sizes that exist for subsets of the population.
	For context, the basic state pension threshold in 2007-08 was £87.30.
	It should be noted that the data are based on individual incomes. As shown in Table 1 above, just 4 per cent. of the individuals' income in this group in 2005-08 provided the total household income. That is, 96 per cent. of this group live in households with other income earning adults and therefore their overall household income is likely to be much higher. The vast majority of this second group are female.
	When considering income, household income is most commonly used. This is because the living standards of an individual depend not only on his or her own income, but also on the income of others in the household. Consequently, considering an individuals income is often not indicative of that individuals overall living standards.
	The figures in Table 1 should therefore be used to signify the change in this income level, rather than as an indicator of the average level of income that an individual has to live on and consequently a gauge of living standards.
	
		
			   Average weekly income of individual pensioners with incomes below the basic state pension threshold in each given time period (in 2007-08 prices) (£)  Proportion where income from individual is the only household income (percentage)  Change in average individual income (£) 
			 1995-98 50 2 - 
			 1996-99 50 2 0 
			 1997-2000 51 2 1 
			 1998-01 51 2 0 
			 1999-02 53 2 2 
			 2000-03 54 2 1 
			 2001-04 53 2 -1 
			 2002-05 54 3 1 
			 2003-06 54 3 1 
			 2004-07 58 4 3 
			 2005-08 57 4 -1 
			  Notes: 1. Please note that figures on change may not match exactly due to rounding. 2. Incomes and change in income are rounded to the nearest pound. 
		
	
	The figures suggest that while there have been two time periods where the average income has fallen, over the entire period since 1995-98, the average income has risen by £7 in real terms.

Winter Fuel Payments: Nottingham

Graham Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners in Nottingham North constituency are receiving the higher levels of winter fuel payments; and what the average increase in the level of that payment per pensioner has been in the last three years.

Angela Eagle: The basic winter fuel payment of £200 for households with someone aged 60 to 79 and £300 for households with someone aged 80 or over has remained the same for the last three years. However, for this winter, and for winter 2008-09, an additional payment of £50 for households with those aged 60 to 79 and £100 for households with someone aged 80 or over has been made, taking payments to £250 and £400 respectively.
	For winter 2008-09, 17,100 people in Nottingham North constituency received a winter fuel payment. Of these, 3,550 received the higher winter fuel payment which is for those aged 80 or over.

Work Capability Assessment: Appeals

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate has been made on the number of people who were waiting  (a) between one and 30 days,  (b) between 30 and 60 days,  (c) between 60 and 120 days,  (d) for more than six months and  (e) for more than 12 months for an appeal in respect of the outcome of their work capability assessment after a health professional on an employment tribunal has deemed a person fit for employment.

Jonathan R Shaw: The information requested is not available.

Work Capability Assessment: Appeals

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if she will make an assessment of the financial position of people waiting for an appeal to be heard in respect of the outcome of their work capability assessment after a health professional at an employment tribunal has deemed a person fit for employment.

Jonathan R Shaw: For employment and support allowance, where a customer does not satisfy the work capability assessment, but continues to provide medical evidence that they should refrain from work, entitlement to benefit continues at the assessment phase rate pending the outcome of the appeal. This policy was introduced to ensure that customers have ongoing financial support until the outcome of their appeal is decided.
	If the appeal is decided in the customer's favour, arrears are backdated to the date from which the higher rates are awarded.

Written Questions: Government Responses

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when she will respond to Question 301334, tabled by the hon. Member for South-West Bedfordshire on 19 November 2009, on departmental working practices.

Jim Knight: holding answer 10 December 2009
	I replied to the hon. Member's question on 8 December 2009,  Official Report, column 243-4W.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Action Plan Orders

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many action plan orders relating to those aged  (a) 10 or 11,  (b) 12 to 14 and  (c) 15 to 17 years old have been (i) given and (ii) breached in each year since 1997.

Dawn Primarolo: I have been asked to reply.
	The following table shows the number of action plan orders that have been given to young people by courts, broken down by financial year and age group. Data on breaches of action plan orders are not held centrally. Action plan orders were introduced in pilot areas from 1998 and nationally from 2000. Complete data are not available on numbers of orders made prior to the financial year 2000-01.
	
		
			  Action plan orders 
			  Age group  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			 10-11 138 181 73 66 59 55 58 47 
			 12-14 2,320 3,015 1,448 1,465 1,555 1,695 1,592 1,553 
			 15-17 4,928 6,276 3,877 3,679 3,704 3,879 3,989 3,882 
			 Total 7,386 9,472 5,398 5,210 5,318 5,629 5,639 5,482 
			  Note: These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing and may be subject to change over time.

Alcoholic Drinks: Crime

Sally Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many alcohol-related crimes were recorded as being committed by 16 to 24 years olds in  (a) Northamptonshire,  (b) the East Midlands and  (c) England and Wales in each of the last three years.

Alan Campbell: The information requested is not available from the recorded crime statistics collected centrally by the Home Office. With the exception of the specific offence of 'causing death by careless driving when under the influence of drink or drugs', it not possible to identify those offences which are alcohol-related. In addition, details of the age of the alleged offender are not collected centrally.

Animal Experiments: Wales

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many infringements of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 in Wales were recorded in 2008; and how many of those resulted in a prosecution.

Meg Hillier: During 2008 there was one infringements of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 recorded for a designated establishment in Wales. It did not result in a prosecution.

Anti-Terrorism Control Orders

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have  (a) been subject to a control order and  (b) absconded (i) in the UK and (ii) abroad while subject to a control order since the implementation of such orders.

David Hanson: As of 10 September 2009, the last date covered by the most recent written ministerial statement on control orders, 44 individuals had been subject to a control order.
	Seven individuals have absconded from control orders, with the most recent abscond taking place in June 2007. One of the individuals who absconded subsequently turned himself in to the police.
	In relation to the locations and status of these individuals, I would refer the hon. Member to written ministerial statements in relation to control orders published on 11 December 2006, 16 January 2007, 22 March 2007, 24 May 2007, 21 June 2007 (two statements), 17 September 2007 and 13 March 2008. These statements give as much information as we can provide about the individuals concerned given the national security sensitivities of these cases and the need to avoid publishing any information that could lead to the identification of an individual who is subject to an anonymity order.

Arrests: Football

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he plans to publish statistics relating to football-related arrests and banning orders for 2008-09.

Alan Campbell: Football-related arrest and banning order statistics for the 2008-09 football season were published on 22 December 2009.

Asylum

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent steps he has taken to reduce the asylum backlog; whether any additional staff have been assigned to this task in the last three months; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: Lin Homer updated the Home Affairs Select Committee on 19 October 2009 on steps the UK Border Agency has taken to reduce the asylum backlog. Lin Homer will provide a further update to the Committee in January 2010.

Asylum

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether his Department has set a timetable for the consideration of the backlog of non-Arab Darfuri asylum claims in respect of the new Operation Guidance Note on Sudan.

Phil Woolas: The backlog of asylum claims from Darfuris will be considered in line with existing priorities as set out by the Case Resolution Directorate. All cases will be dealt with on their own individual merits and in accordance with these priorities.

British Nationality: Assessments

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment he has made of the benefits to migrants to the UK of the use of citizenship tests.

Phil Woolas: We consider citizenship tests to be an important element in helping people to integrate into their wider community in the UK. Passing the citizenship test ensures that migrants have an understanding of life in the UK and the requisite skills, including English, to allow them to fully integrate. Preparing for the test gives applicants the practical knowledge needed to live in the UK and to take part in society.
	The consultation document Earning the Right to Stay-A New Points Test for Citizenship, published in August 2009, set out proposals for changes to the test process and outlined how a two stage citizenship test might fit within the new system for earned citizenship set out in the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009.
	The consultation closed on 26 October and responses are being analysed.

Chief Scientific Adviser

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions he has met  (a) the Government chief scientific adviser and  (b) his Department's chief scientific adviser in the course of his official duties in the last 12 months.

Meg Hillier: holding answer 7 December 2009
	In the last 12 months the Home Secretary has had one discussion with the Government chief scientific adviser over a specific policy issue, in addition to meeting frequently at the Home Secretary's Weekly Security meetings.
	In the last 12 months the Home Secretary has met the Home Office chief scientific adviser on seven occasions to discuss specific policy issues. This is in addition to meeting frequently at the Home Secretary's Weekly Security meetings and meeting at the National Crime Reduction Board.

Crime

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many crimes were recorded  (a) in total and  (b) per capita in (i) Wales and (ii) England in each year since 1997;
	(2)  how many recorded incidents of robbery there were  (a) in total and  (b) per head in (i) Wales and (ii) England in each year since 1997.

David Hanson: holding answer 14 December 2009
	The available information relates to offences recorded by the police and the number of offences and rates per 1,000 population are given in the following tables. Rates per 1,000 population is the usual method of presenting these data.
	
		
			  Table 1: Offences recorded by the police-1997 
			   1997 
			  Area and numbers  All offences  Robbery 
			  Wales   
			 Number of offences 236,936 811 
			 Rate per 1,000 population 81 0.3 
			
			  England   
			 Number of offences 4,361,391 62,261 
			 Rate per 1,000 population 89 1.3 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Offences recorded by the police-1998-99 to 2001-02 
			   1998-99  1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02 
			  Area and numbers  All offences  Robbery  All offences  Robbery  All offences  Robbery  All offences  Robbery 
			  Wales 
			 Number of offences 261,994 853 255,487 909 238,449 890 241,432 1,030 
			 Rate per 1,000 population 90 0.3 87 0.3 81 0.3 82 0.3 
			  
			  England 
			 Number of offences 4,847,095 65,982 5,045,698 83,368 4,932,394 94,264 5,283,592 120,329 
			 Rate per 1,000 population 98 1.3 102 1.7 99 2.0 106 2.4 
			  Notes: 1. The coverage was extended and counting rules revised from 1998-99. Figures from that date are not directly comparable with those for 1997. 2. The data in this table is prior to the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard in April 2002. These figures are not directly comparable with those for later years. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 3: Offences recorded by the police-2002-03 to 2008-09 
			   2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			  Area and numbers  All offences  Robbery  All offences  Robbery  All offences  Robbery  All offences  Robbery 
			  Wales 
			 Number of offences 294,780 1,377 289,263 1,280 267,624 1,084 258,024 1,137 
			 Rate per 1,000 population 102 0.5 99 0.4 91 0.4 87 0.4 
			  
			  England 
			 Number of offences 5,602,916 106,652 5,645,314 99,914 5,291,998 87,889 5,220,763 94,895 
			 Rate per 1,000 population 114 2.2 114 2.0 106 1.8 104 1.9 
		
	
	
		
			   2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			  Area and numbers  All offences  Robbery  All offences  Robbery  All offences  Robbery 
			  Wales   
			 Number of offences 258,473 1,354 243,623 1,260 236,613 1,215 
			 Rate per 1,000 population 87 0.5 82 0.4 79 0.4 
			
			  England   
			 Number of offences 5,092,680 98,069 4,639,675 82,446 4,400,988 78,031 
			 Rate per 1,000 population 101 1.9 91 1.6 86 1.5 
			  Note: The data in this table takes account of the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard in April 2002. These figures are not directly comparable with those for earlier years.

Crime: Knives

Malcolm Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many crimes involving the use of a knife were recorded by each police division in England in each of the last 10 years.

David Hanson: The Home Office has collected data on knife and sharp instrument offences since April 2007 via a special additional data collection. Data are therefore only available for two years.
	In 2007-08, the data collection covered the following offences: attempted murder, GBH and robbery. In 2008-09, the collection was expanded to include threats to kill, ABH, rape and sexual assaults. There were also changes in how both GBH with and without intent was recorded by forces following clarification of counting rules. Therefore, the figures between the two years are not comparable.
	There is a further reason why the figures are not fully comparable. Some forces in 2007-08 included, for technical reasons, a number of 'unbroken' bottle offences, which is outside the defined scope of the collection. For 2008-09, the majority of forces within England could supply data excluding unbroken bottles, with four Home Office forces still unable to remove them from their returns.
	The data for each police force in both England and Wales are published in 'Crime in England and Wales 2008-09' at the following link:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs09/hosb1109chap7new.xls
	Data for 2007-08 are shown in Table 7.11 and data for 2008-09 are shown in Table 7.12.
	These figures do not include homicide, as these are collected from the separate Homicide Index. The 1998-99 to 2007-08 homicide data for each police force in England are shown in Table A.
	Homicide figures for 2008-09 are pre-announced to be published on 21 January 2010.
	
		
			  Table A: Offences currently recorded as homicide( 1)  involving the use of a knife or sharp instrument, 1998-99 to 2007-08( 2) 
			  Police force  1998-99  1999- 20 00  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			 Cleveland 1 3 5 3 3 3 3 3 3 4 
			 Durham 2 0 1 2 3 0 2 3 5 0 
			 Northumbria 5 9 5 4 8 8 6 7 10 14 
			  North East Region 8 12 11 9 14 11 11 13 18 18 
			
			 Cheshire 3 0 0 3 2 5 3 7 4 2 
			 Cumbria 1 5 3 1 2 1 1 0 0 3 
			 Greater Manchester 14 10 14 23 19 17 15 11 13 15 
			 Lancashire 2 1 15 4 10 12 11 1 4 13 
			 Merseyside 11 6 14 3 12 10 14 10 10 9 
			  North West Region 31 22 46 34 45 45 44 29 31 42 
			
			 Humberside 2 2 2 3 5 8 3 1 7 6 
			 North Yorkshire 0 1 0 0 0 1 3 2 0 0 
			 South Yorkshire 3 4 4 6 7 2 7 6 3 8 
			 West Yorkshire 12 7 8 11 13 7 13 11 12 13 
			  Yorkshire and the Humber Region 17 14 14 20 25 18 26 20 22 27 
			
			 Derbyshire 1 2 1 4 2 3 2 2 3 1 
			 Leicestershire 1 0 4 2 4 9 3 3 5 3 
			 Lincolnshire 1 2 0 1 2 2 0 0 3 3 
			 Northamptonshire 2 1 3 3 5 1 0 6 6 4 
			 Nottinghamshire 6 5 4 6 3 6 6 7 7 3 
			  East Midlands Region 11 10 12 16 16 21 11 18 24 14 
			
			 Staffordshire 4 2 0 1 0 3 3 2 5 3 
			 Warwickshire 2 1 0 1 2 2 3 1 5 2 
			 West Mercia 3 1 3 5 2 5 3 0 3 1 
			 West Midlands 16 15 9 19 17 22 21 22 15 15 
			  West Midlands Region 25 19 12 26 21 32 30 25 28 21 
			
			 Bedfordshire 2 1 2 7 1 1 4 3 3 3 
			 Cambridgeshire 1 4 0 1 2 5 2 2 2 4 
			 Essex 5 9 2 10 7 5 0 6 9 3 
			 Hertfordshire 1 5 4 3 4 4 5 3 6 3 
			 Norfolk 5 2 4 1 0 3 1 1 3 3 
			 Suffolk 0 0 3 2 0 2 2 3 2 2 
			  East of England Region 14 21 15 24 14 20 14 18 25 18 
			
			 London, City of 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 
			 Metropolitan Police 52 68 69 68 68 61 62 57 70 78 
			  London Region 52 68 69 68 68 61 62 57 71 78 
			
			 Hampshire 3 5 5 7 10 3 7 4 7 7 
			 Kent 3 8 4 10 6 4 4 7 6 5 
			 Surrey 1 1 1 2 1 1 4 3 0 3 
			 Sussex 4 5 5 6 9 3 9 4 3 3 
			 Thames Valley 7 8 3 9 13 3 6 7 8 6 
			  South East Region 18 27 18 34 39 14 30 25 24 24 
			
			 Avon and Somerset 5 5 3 4 4 4 4 2 4 6 
			 Devon and Cornwall 6 1 5 6 2 3 10 4 5 6 
			 Dorset 1 1 3  3 6 0 0 2 2 
			 Gloucestershire 1 3 0 3 3 2 2 0 2 0 
			 Wiltshire  1 0 3 2 2 3 1 1 2 
			  South West Region 13 11 11 16 14 17 19 7 14 16 
			
			 England 189 204 208 247 256 239 247 212 257 258 
			 (1) As at 5 January 2009; figures are subject to revision as cases are dealt with by the police and by the courts, or as further information becomes available. (2) Offences are shown according to the year in which police initially recorded the offence as homicide. This is not necessarily the year in which the incident took place or the year in which any court decision was made.

Crimes of Violence: Cambridgeshire

Malcolm Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many incidents of  (a) grievous bodily harm and  (b) actual bodily harm were recorded by each police division in Cambridgeshire in each of the last 10 years.

David Hanson: Cambridgeshire is divided into three basic command units (BCUs): central, northern and southern. These were set up in 2000-01, so data at this level are not available prior to this year.
	There was a major change in police recorded crime recording practices in April 2002 that means that figures from 2002-03 are not comparable with figures prior to that year.
	The introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard in April 2002 brought in a more victim-focused reporting system, where victim accounts had to be accepted unless there was credible evidence to the contrary. In its first year, this was estimated to have artificially increased recording of violence against the person by 23 per cent.
	From 1 April 2008 there were also changes in offence classification which for the first time collected separate information on grievous bodily harm (GBH) without intent (rather than as part of a broader 'other wounding' category) and a clarification in the counting rules for grievous bodily harm (GBH) with intent. This led to a step change in the levels of most serious violence for some police forces. This means figures for 2008-09 are not comparable with those for earlier years.
	Data for GBH offences for each BCU in Cambridgeshire are given in Table A (1999-2000 to 2001-02) and Table B (2002-03 to 2008-09).
	Data for actual bodily harm (ABH) offences for each BCU in Cambridgeshire are given in Table C (1999-2000 to 2001-02) and Table D (2002-03 to 2008-09).
	
		
			  Table A: Number of recorded offences of grievous bodily harm by basic command unit (BCU) in Cambridgeshire, 1999-2000 to 2001-02 
			  BCU  Offence  1999-2000( 1)  2000-01  2001-02 
			 Central More serious wounding or other act endangering life - 44 41 
			 Northern More serious wounding or other act endangering life - 107 89 
			 Southern More serious wounding or other act endangering life - 76 71 
			 Total Cambridgeshire More serious wounding or other act endangering life 196 227 201 
			 (1) BCUs were set up in 2000-01 so data at this level are not available prior to this year. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table B: Number of recorded offences of grievous bodily harm by basic command unit (BCU) in Cambridgeshire, 2002-03 to 2008-09 
			  BCU   2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07( 1)  2007-08  2008-09( 2) 
			 Central More serious wounding or other act endangering life 58 53 53 54 56 56 - 
			  Inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent - - - - - - 111 
			  Inflicting grievous bodily harm without intent - - - - - - 48 
			  Racially or religiously aggravated inflicting GBH without intent - - - - - - 1 
			  Total GBH 58 53 53 54 56 56 160 
			  
			 Northern More serious wounding or other act endangering life 113 150 111 96 66 77 - 
			  Inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent - - - - - - 149 
			  Inflicting grievous bodily harm without intent - - - - - - 69 
			  Racially or religiously aggravated inflicting GBH without intent - - - - - - 4 
			  Total GBH 113 150 111 96 66 77 222 
			  
			 Southern More serious wounding or other act endangering life 56 74 78 44 54 41 - 
			  Inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent - - - - - - 124 
			  Inflicting grievous bodily harm without intent - - - - - - 43 
			  Racially or religiously aggravated inflicting GBH without intent - - - - - - 1 
			  Total GBH 56 74 78 44 54 41 168 
			  
			 Total Cambridgeshire More serious wounding or other act endangering life 227 277 242 194 176 174 - 
			  Inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent - - - - - - 384 
			  Inflicting grievous bodily harm without intent - - - - - - 160 
			  Racially or religiously aggravated inflicting GBH without intent - --- - - 6   
			  Total GBH 227 277 242 194 176 174 550 
			 (1 )Cambridgeshire BCUs were revised in 2006-07, so figures from 2006-07 are not comparable with previous years (2 )A clarification of counting rules in April 2008, in relation to GBH with intent, led to a step change in the levels of GBH offences for some police forces. The offence of more serious wounding or other act endangering life was also disaggregated. Therefore, figures for 2008-09 are not comparable with previous years. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table C: Number of recorded offences of actual bodily harm by basic command unit (BCU) in Cambridgeshire, 1999-2000 to 2001-02 
			 BCU  1999-2000(1) 2000-01 2001-02 
			 Central Less serious wounding - 375 413 
			  Racially or religiously aggravated less serious wounding - 4 4 
			  Total ABH - 379 417 
			  
			 Northern Less serious wounding - 818 799 
			  Racially or religiously aggravated less serious wounding - 35 23 
			  Total ABH - 853 822 
			  
			 Southern Less serious wounding - 677 523 
			  Racially or religiously aggravated less serious wounding - 17 14 
			  Total ABH - 694 537 
			  
			 Total Cambridgeshire Less serious wounding 2,105 1,870 1,735 
			  Racially or religiously aggravated less serious wounding 72 56 41 
			  Total ABH 2,177 1,926 1,776 
			 (1) BCUs were set up in 2000-01 so data at this level are not available prior to this year. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table D: Number of recorded offences of actual bodily harm by basic command unit (BCU) in Cambridgeshire, 2002-03 to 2008-09 
			  BCU   2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07( 1)  2007-08  2008-09( 2) 
			 Central Less serious wounding 1,068 1,694 1,661 1,413 1,302 1,093 - 
			  Actual bodily harm (ABH) and other injury - - - - - - 1,102 
			  Racially or religiously aggravated less serious wounding 9 21 20 12 13 17 - 
			  Racially or religiously aggravated ABH or other injury - - - - - - 11 
			  Total ABH 1,077 1,715 1,681 1,425 1,315 1,110 1,113 
			  
			 Northern Less serious wounding 1,498 2,225 2,261 1,926 1,812 1,688 - 
			  Actual bodily harm (ABH) and other injury - - - - - - 1,509 
			  Racially or religiously aggravated less serious wounding 40 58 39 31 26 21 - 
			  Racially or religiously aggravated ABH or other injury - - - - - - 24 
			  Total ABH 1,538 2,283 2,300 1,957 1,838 1,709 1,533 
			  
			 Southern Less serious wounding 1,143 1,815 1,907 1,574 1,464 1,496 - 
			  Actual bodily harm (ABH) and other injury - - - - - - 1,437 
			  Racially or religiously aggravated less serious wounding 14 11 14 20 19 14 - 
			  Racially or religiously aggravated ABH or other injury - - - - - - 21 
			  Total ABH 1,157 1,826 1,921 1,594 1,483 1,510 1,458 
			  
			 Total Cambridgeshire Less serious wounding 3,709 5,734 5,829 4,913 4,578 4,277 - 
			  Actual bodily harm (ABH) and other injury - - - - - - 4,048 
			  Racially or religiously aggravated less serious wounding 63 90 73 63 58 52 - 
			  Racially or religiously aggravated ABH or other injury - - - - - - 56 
			  Total ABH 3,772 6,824 5,902 4,976 4,636 4,329 4,104 
			 (1 )Cambridgeshire BCUs were revised in 2006-07. (2 )The offence of less serious wounding was disaggregated in April 2008.

Custodial Treatment: Shotgun Certificates

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance his Department has issued in respect of the length of time for which a person who has served a custodial sentence in respect of a motoring offence may be refused a shotgun licence.

Alan Campbell: Home Office guidance draws specific attention to the provisions of section 21 of the Firearms Act 1968 which provides that persons who are sentenced to a term of imprisonment of three years or more are prohibited from ever possessing firearms; persons who are sentenced to a term of three months or more but less than three years must not possess firearms until five years have passed since the date of release. Otherwise it is for chief officers to satisfy themselves on the individual merits of each case that an applicant can be permitted to possess a shotgun without danger to public safety or to the peace.

Departmental Domestic Visits

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions he visited  (a) Scotland,  (b) Wales and  (c) Northern Ireland in an official capacity in the last 12 months.

Alan Johnson: I visited Scotland in an official capacity on 9 November 2009 and visited Wales on 23 July, 27 September and 25 November 2009. I have not visited Northern Ireland in an official capacity over the past 12 months.
	My predecessor visited Scotland on 16 April 2009.

Departmental Electronic Equipment

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many iPOD must devices have been bought by his Department since 2005; and what the cost to the public purse was of buying the devices.

Phil Woolas: The Home Department bought 20 video iPODs at a cost of £7,580 plus VAT in 2007.

Departmental Internet

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) page hits and  (b) visitors his Department's website received in 2008-09.

Phil Woolas: The page hits and visitors to the Home Office website (www.homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk) received in 2008 to 23 November 2009 are shown in the following table.
	
		
			   Visitors  Page views 
			  2008   
			 January 542,536 2,914,607 
			 February 494,334 2,600,864 
			 March 502,010 2,413,890 
			 April 483,484 1,864,995 
			 May 452,250 1,679,028 
			 June 436,067 1,615,907 
			 July 447,976 1,698,556 
			 August 400,380 1,483,316 
			 September 484,514 1,794,156 
			 October 526,969 1,911,173 
			 November 545,229 1,878,616 
			 December 475,790 1,553,435 
			 Total 2008 5,791,539 23,408,543 
			
			  2009   
			 January 623,950 2,046,262 
			 February 583,124 1,951,243 
			 March 653,774 2,208,086 
			 April 571,472 1,829,341 
			 May 568,288 1,706,250 
			 June 515,707 1,600,333 
			 July 502,079 1,511,556 
			 August 485,073 1,448,202 
			 September 516,224 1,478,917 
			 October 556,992 1,622,770 
			 November 428,522 1,252,220 
			 Total 2009 6,005,205 18,655,180 
			 Total 11,796,744 42,063,723 
			 Maximum March 2009 653,774 2,914,607 
			 Minimum August 2008 400,380 1,252,220 
			 Average 512,902 1,828,858

Departmental Internet

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what redesigns of websites operated by  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies have taken place since 27 June 2007; and what the (i) cost to the public purse and (ii) date of completion of each such redesign was.

Phil Woolas: The costs and completion dates of website redesigns since 27 June 2007 for the Home Office and its agencies are detailed in the following table. The costs considered and included are as follows:
	strategy and planning;
	design and build;
	content provision;
	testing and evaluation.
	It is not possible to disaggregate associated staff costs for these redesigns. There are no additional hosting/infrastructure costs as a consequence of the redesigns.
	
		
			  Website  url  Details  Date completed  Cost  (£) 
			 Home Office http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk Updating of Home Office website design to tie-in with revised Home Office branding Improvement of site navigation design technique. Full usability testing of designs. May 2008 50,325.00 
			 UK Border Agency http://bia.homeoffice.gov.uk1 Rationalising two old sites-www.workingintheuk.gov.uk and www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk--into a single site. 18 December 2007 144,500 
			 Identity and Passport Service http://www.ips.gov.uk New site developed to integrate GRO corporate content and reflect the new structure following convergence to Direct.gov and Business Link. June 2009 206,000.00 
			 Criminal Records Bureau http://www.crb.homeoffice.gov.uk Site redesign including concepts and template creation 30 June 2009 19,352.00 
			 (1) Now www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk

Departmental Training

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the  (a) date,  (b) location and  (c) cost was of each of the last four Departmental away days that he attended.

Phil Woolas: There have been no away days as such since the Home Secretary arrived in the Home Office. Regular meetings between Ministers and senior officials have all been held on Home Office premises. One of those was preceded by a dinner in central London on the previous evening at a cost of £1,636 for 22 people.

DNA: Databases

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  which organisations were able to access data on the National DNA Database on 1 October 2009;
	(2)  which organisations were able to access data on the National DNA Database on 1 December 2009.

Alan Campbell: Direct access to information on the National DNA Database (NDNAD) is restricted to 34 designated personnel working for the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA). Police forces and other organisations do not have access to the information on the NDNAD, however they receive reports from the NDNAD Custodian Delivery Unit of matches between DNA taken from crime scenes and that taken from individuals.
	On both 1 October and 1 December 2009, the police forces of England, Wales and Scotland, the Police Service of Northern Ireland, the British Transport police and 11 additional organisations were authorised to receive match reports from the NDNAD. The 11 additional organisations are listed as follows.
	 Additional organisations authorised to receive NDNAD match reports on 1 October 2009
	Criminal Cases Review Commission
	Guernsey Police
	HM Revenue and Customs
	Isle of Man Constabulary
	States of Jersey Police
	Joint Armed Services Police
	Ministry of Defence Police
	Ministry of Defence Police (Scotland)
	NDNAD Data Quality Team-Prisoner Sampling Program
	Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency
	Serious Organised Crime Agency
	Foreign law enforcement organisations do not have access to the NDNAD, but may request that a comparison is made between a DNA profile from, for example, an unsolved crime scene or an unidentified deceased person in their country, and profiles on the NDNAD. Such requests are routed through Interpol to the UK National Central Bureau (UK NCB) based at the Serious Organised Crime Agency.
	These requests are only processed where it is clear that the request is in the interest of prevention and detection of crime, national security or the data subject. They are also subject to a risk assessment, taking into account the justification for and proportionality of disclosure of the information in line with human rights. If cleared for processing, a one-off search of the NDNAD is made and information on any matches are fed back to UK NCB who will liaise with the foreign law enforcement organisation.

Driving Under Influence

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were stopped and tested for drink driving  (a) in West Yorkshire,  (b) in each police authority area and  (c) in total in each of the last five years.

Alan Campbell: The information requested is provided in the following tables.
	Figures on West Yorkshire and the total in each of the last five years can be found highlighted in the table.
	
		
			  Total breath tests for each police 
			  Police force  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			 Avon and Somerset 24,492 27,297 21,928 15,779 15,655 
			 Bedfordshire 6,633 7,764 6,704 3,093 2,578 
			 Cambridgeshire 12,300 12,300 12,500 12,500 12,000 
			 Cheshire 11,854 20,155 22,005 35,747 32,210 
			 Cleveland 8,716 8,056 10,826 11,308 10,140 
			 Cumbria 5,513 8,430 13,577 13,804 16,217 
			 Derbyshire 32,570 31,023 17,685 16,019 15,873 
			 Devon and Cornwall 10,914 10,690 10,423 13,562 16,687 
			 Dorset 8,464 6,938 7,917 8,706 8,038 
			 Durham 7,558 6,080 7,734 6,945 8,160 
			 Essex 15,481 25,337 34,249 28,436 25,946 
			 Gloucestershire 8,647 7,144 9,122 10,090 8,262 
			 Greater Manchester 20,900 19,900 18,900 18,100 18,025 
			 Hampshire 37,529 38,399 38,323 34,772 26,208 
			 Hertfordshire 4,011 7,289 11,900 12,693 12,030 
			 Humberside 6,545 5,619 5,717 10,009 11,885 
			 Kent 24,553 32,019 31,187 31,684 28,629 
			 Lancashire 7,981 10,204 12,990 16,337 19,158 
			 Leicestershire 12,007 15,399 14,419 9,980 6,644 
			 Lincolnshire 12,076 11,310 11,431 10,581 14,722 
			 London, City of 1,237 683 1,117 1,553 1,375 
			 Merseyside 7,722 5,019 8,003 10,642 12,829 
			 Metropolitan 55,993 61,535 67,461 65,025 66,919 
			 Norfolk 4,030 4,805 10,367 7,844 6,366 
			 North Yorkshire 8,254 8,589 9,339 10,129 10,526 
			 Northamptonshire 3,126 3,200 5,196 4,259 4,076 
			 Northumbria 11,123 9,776 9,301 7,992 7,392 
			 Nottinghamshire 7,146 8,241 7,923 7,172 7,250 
			 South Yorkshire 12,117 6,494 13,689 10,267 11,390 
			 Staffordshire 5,073 13,666 14,322 12,723 12,369 
			 Suffolk 11,566 10,569 8,854 9,059 10,435 
			 Surrey 8,858 9,484 9,605 8,278 6,915 
			 Sussex 17,150 15,210 17,983 18,742 16,805 
			 Thames Valley 16,049 15,363 14,629 13,538 14,850 
			 Warwickshire 5,848 5,496 4,820 4,458 4,877 
			 West Mercia 6,289 7,991 8,833 11,267 10,438 
			 West Midlands 10,960 6,579 6,900 6,229 5,611 
			 West Yorkshire 14,157 16,921 15,367 18,011 18,724 
			 Wiltshire 5,867 7,398 7,167 8,708 7,688 
			 Dyfed-Powys 5,982 6,686 6,917 7,291 9,429 
			 Gwent 2,794 1,632 1,957 1,702 2,374 
			 North Wales 17,337 24,177 21,812 19,597 23,034 
			 South Wales 16,863 16,733 16,269 17,087 19,013 
			 Total 534,285 577,600 607,368 601,718 599,752

E-mail: Fraud

Oliver Letwin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what procedures his Department has in place regarding the monitoring of emails making fraudulent offers to recipients; and if he will make a statement.

Alan Campbell: The Government do not routinely monitor the internet. Where law enforcement agencies are investigating a crime initiated on the internet such as fraud, they are able to use a number of powers, including those under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act, which are proportionate and specific to the case.

Entry Clearances

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many workers were permitted to enter the UK in the categories listed in paragraphs 8.4 and 8.5 of the Migration Advisory Committee's October 2009 review of the shortage occupation lists for the UK and Scotland in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 30 November 2009
	The information is not centrally recorded and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Entry Clearances

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 3 December 2009,  Official Report, columns 888-9W, on entry clearances, what the average caseworking time to process a  (a) postal,  (b) premium and  (c) student batch application was in the latest period for which figures are available.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 14 December 2009
	The information requested is as follows:
	 (a) For postal applications during October 2009 UKBA delivered concluded applications against published service standards for the different routes as follows:
	Family-53 per cent. against the service standard of 65 per cent. in four weeks.
	Employment-89 per cent. against the service standard of 75 per cent. in four weeks.
	Study-91 per cent. against the service standard of 75 per cent. in four weeks.
	Visits-61 per cent. against the service of 65 per cent. in four weeks.
	 (b) For premium applications during November 2009 UKBA provided 82 per cent. of applicants with same day service.
	 (c) Student batch applications cannot be measured and are included in the study route performance at  (a).
	The data used are from Internal Management Information only and do not constitute national statistics.

Entry Clearances

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to issue a visa to Mr. Hapinderjit Singh, ref 2616562; what the reason is for the time taken to issue the visa; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 14 December 2009
	The UK Border Agency Operation in New Delhi only received confirmation on 11 December that Mr. Singh's appeal against their decision to refuse him entry clearance had been allowed. UKBA has now written to Mr. Singh informing him of this and asking him to submit his passport so that his visa can be issued without further delay.

Entry Clearances: Overseas Students

Susan Kramer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps are being taken to ensure that any changes to Tier 4 of the points-based system do not reduce the attractiveness of the UK as a study destination to foreign students.

Phil Woolas: The Prime Minister announced on 12 November 2009 that a review of tier 4, the student tier of the Points Based System, would be conducted by a joint team from the UK Border Agency and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. The review team have been asked to assess whether the current tier 4 policy strikes the appropriate balance between facilitating access of genuine students to education in the UK and preventing abuse by economic migrants.
	The review is looking at evidence gathered from the early stages of tier 4, which was launched in March this year, to look at the case for or against any policy changes. The review will consider all of the available data and evidence, including the potential effect of any changes on the attractiveness of the UK as a study destination for international students.

Entry Clearances: Overseas Students

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many non-EU IT contractors in the Tier 2 category  (a) applied for permission to stay in the UK and  (b) were granted permission to stay in the UK in each month since the inception of Tier 2 of the points-based system.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 15 December 2009
	The information requested is not centrally recorded and could be obtained only by the detailed examination of individual case records at disproportionate cost.

Entry Clearances: Overseas Students

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many non-EU IT contractors in the Tier 2 category have permission to stay in the UK.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 15 December 2009
	The information requested is not recorded centrally and could be obtained only by examination of individual case records at disproportionate cost.

Foreign Workers: Entry Clearances

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what level of security clearance is required for IT specialists employed on temporary visas by IBM (India) who work in Somerset with access to private information about staff of Avon and Somerset Police.

David Hanson: This is a matter for the chief constable of Avon and Somerset.

Identity Cards

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have voluntarily applied for an identity card  (a) since 30 November 2009 and  (b) to date.

Alan Johnson: Since 20 October 2009, and up to and including 10 December 2009, over 2,400 applicants have been enrolled or have made an enrolment appointment for an identity card. Approximately 1,600 of those applicants have enrolled or have made an appointment since 30 November 2009.

Identity Cards: Databases

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information will be held on the National Identity Register on identity card holders that is not held on the UK Passport Database in respect of passport holders.

Alan Johnson: The information currently held on the UK passport database is very similar to that which is held on the National Identity Register. In addition, the Register holds:
	1. Fingerprint biometrics, which will be required for passport issue in due course.
	2. Some different administrative information to support the efficient operation of the National Identity Service. This includes:
	(a) National insurance number to aid identity verification checks for identity cards, and in time, passports.
	(b) Answers to shared secrets chosen by applicants which will allow them to identify themselves over the telephone, facilitating quicker reporting of lost or stolen documents and change of address
	(c) A unique number, the national identity registration number, which binds recorded details relating to one person together in the same record.

Identity Cards: Expenditure

John Leech: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost to his Department of providing identity cards has been to date; and what his most recent estimate is of the cost of the identity card trial scheme in Greater Manchester.

Meg Hillier: The National Identity Service (NIS) Cost Report presented to Parliament in October 2009 sets out the latest estimated 10-year future costs of the NIS, which includes the initial costs of roll-out which started in Greater Manchester on 30 November.
	The Identity and Passport Service (IPS) Annual Report and Accounts for 2009-10 will include audited disclosure of operational identity card income and expenditure.
	The National Identity Service combines a number of programmes to deliver modern passports which include facial images and fingerprints, as well as identity cards and other improvements. This is the most cost-effective way to deliver these initiatives because much of the technology and operational processes involved are shared. Total spend on NIS future development projects since April 2006 to September 2009 is £216 million.

Illegal Immigrants: Bail

Edward Timpson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many illegal immigrants on bail have broken the conditions of their bail in the last five years.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 10 December 2009
	 The UK Border Agency does not hold data centrally on breaches of immigration bail.
	Obtaining the information requested would entail a search of case records relating to all individuals who have been placed on immigration bail in the last five years, thereby incurring disproportionate cost.

Immigration

Richard Younger-Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his most recent estimate is of the average time taken by the UK Border Agency to process an application for leave to remain in the UK.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 10 December 2009
	The following table shows performance for LTR casework by application type for the most recent reporting month (October 2009).
	
		
			  Performance by workstream  Service standard  Percentage of applications dealt with within service standard for month end October 2009 
			 Family 65 per cent. of cases within 20 working days 53 
			
			 Study 75 per cent. of cases within 20 working days 91 
			
			 Visiting the UK 75 per cent. of cases within 20 working days 61 
			
			 Work 75 per cent. of cases within 20 working days 89 
			  Note:  These data are not provided under National Statistics protocols. They have been derived from local management information and are therefore provisional and subject to change.

Immigration: Detention Centres

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what arrangements have been made to residential and operational staffing of immigration removal centres over Christmas 2009 and the New Year period.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 10 December 2009
	Immigration removal centres operate throughout the year and are open during Christmas 2009 and new year period. Each centre is making arrangements to celebrate Christmas. Staffing will be maintained at the standard level for each centre to provide continuity of service and to ensure a safe environment for all persons detained.

Immigration: Nepal

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent changes there have been to Immigration Rules in respect of Nepal.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 14 December 2009
	 There have been no recent changes to the Immigration Rules in respect of Nepal. Chapter 15 section 2A of the Immigration Directorate Instructions was updated in June to reflect the Home Secretary's announcement that any Gurkha with more than four years service who had been discharged from the Brigade of Gurkhas before 1 July 1997 would be eligible to apply for settlement in the UK.

Independent Safeguarding Authority

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether a privacy impact assessment was produced in relation to the  (a) creation and  (b) operation of the schemes overseen by the Independent Safeguarding Authority.

Meg Hillier: The Independent Safeguarding Authority was formally vested on 2 January 2008 and commenced operations in March 2008. This pre-dated the mandatory requirement to produce a privacy impact assessment.
	The Vetting and Barring Scheme programme, which includes establishment of the Independent Safeguarding Authority, is being delivered in phases. The programme is currently in its fourth phase and a Privacy Impact Assessment is scheduled to be completed during the remaining phases of the programme.

National Public Order Intelligence Unit: Finance

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to the answer of 10 November 2009,  Official Report, column 339, on the National Public Order Intelligence Unit, what the budget of the unit was in each financial year since 2003.

Alan Campbell: The National Public Order Intelligence Unit has provided the following information on its annual budget for each financial year since 2003.
	
		
			   £ million 
			 2003-04 2.5 
			 2004-05 2.5 
			 2005-06 2.5 
			 2006-07 2.537 
			 2007-08 4.279 
			 2008-09 5.946 
			 2009-10 5.702

Offenders: Radicalism

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many units within his Department are developing interventions and programmes for extremist offenders following their release from a custodial sentence.

David Hanson: One unit, the Prevent Interventions Unit, is working with a number of community based organisations to develop a range of interventions to support individuals, and this target group will include some offenders convicted of terrorist related offences. The unit also work with statutory partners, such as the National Offender Management Service, to develop interventions that support offenders convicted of a terrorist offence as well as offenders who are vulnerable to recruitment or have already been recruited by violent extremists.

Offensive Weapons: Convictions

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people charged with carrying an offensive weapon in  (a) England,  (b) the North East and  (c) Middlesbrough, South and East Cleveland constituency in 2008-09; and what sentences those convicted of such offences received.

Jack Straw: I have been asked to reply.
	The number of offenders that were charged with carrying an offensive weapon is not available. Data relating to possession of an offensive weapon are based on offences resulting in a caution or sentence.
	The table shows the number of offences involving the possession of an offensive weapon resulting in a caution or sentence between Ql 2008 (January to March) to Q3 2009 (July to September) in England and Wales.
	This table has been taken from the Ministry of Justice's publication Knife Crime Sentencing: Quarterly Brief published on 10 December 2009 and available from
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/knife-crime-sentencing.htm
	Further regional breakdowns by police force area are not given as the numbers are too small for reliable interpretation.
	
		
			  Offences( 1)  involving possession of an offensive weapon resulting in a caution or a sentence 
			  Number of offences and percentage 
			  Disposal category  Q1 2008  Q2 2008  Q3 2008  Q4 2008  Q1  2009  Q2 2009  Q3 2009 
			  Number of offences
			 Possession of an offensive weapon 3,751 3,639 3,665 3,475 3,217 3,183 3,101 
			 Caution(2) 1,586 1,602 1,393 1,218 1,138 1,105 1,092 
			 Absolute/Conditional discharge 203 169 102 83 91 93 92 
			 Fine 166 112 113 134 122 114 106 
			 Community sentence 964 881 977 976 886 911 830 
			 Suspended sentence 248 266 320 330 309 342 331 
			 Immediate custody 497 518 681 623 606 551 498 
			 Other disposal 87 91 79 111 65 67 152 
			 
			  Percentage of total offences
			 Caution(2) 42 44 38 35 35 35 35 
			 Community sentence 26 24 27 28 28 29 27 
			 Suspended sentence 7 7 9 9 10 11 11 
			 Immediate custody 13 14 19 18 19 17 16 
			 (1 )As recorded by the police on the police national computer. (2) Cautions include juveniles receiving reprimands and final warnings.  Notes: 1. These figures have been drawn from the police's administrative IT system, the police national computer (PNC), which, as with any large scale recording system, is subject to possible errors with data entry and processing. The figures are provisional and subject to change as more information is recorded by the police.  2. PNC data has been used here rather than court data, which is the usual source of published sentencing statistics, as PNC data provides more up to date figures ahead of the finalised annual court data.

Passports

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of replacing a  (a) passport damaged by the passport holder and  (b) passport containing a defective component.

Meg Hillier: The information is as follows:
	 (a) There is no cost to the public purse of replacing a passport damaged by the passport holder as the process requires a new application to be processed and the applicant must pay the full passport fee.
	 (b) The cost to the public purse of replacing defective passports is commercial in confidence information.

Passports

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what mechanisms are in place to assist those to whom passports with a faulty chip have been issued; and if he will make a statement.

Meg Hillier: In some instances, a machine reader may not recognise the passport when it is read. This could be due to a number of reasons such as a faulty passport reader, a manufacturing fault in the passport chip or because damage has been caused by the holder to the biometric chip. If a customer encounters difficulties at UK immigration, the Identity and Passport Service (IPS) can have the passport checked by the manufacturer. However, if a customer has travel requirements while the passport is being checked, IPS will issue a replacement passport, free of charge, upon production of proof of travel. This is a change to previous IPS policy, which required customers to pay for a replacement passport if they needed to travel while the passport was being tested.

Passports

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many passports issued in each of the last three years have been found to contain faulty chips.

Meg Hillier: The recording of statistical data relating to faulty chips in passports began in January 2007 and, as at 31 October 2009, a total of 1,342 passports were returned to the supplier with suspected faulty chips, but only 1,107 of those were confirmed as faulty.
	The majority of defective chips are identified at the quality assurance stage of the passport issuing process, prior to the passports being dispatched to customers.

Police

Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) police constables there were in each year since 1997 and  (b) police community support officers there were in each year since 1992 in (i) England and (ii) Avon and Somerset constituency.

David Hanson: The available data can be seen in the following tables.
	The first police community support officers started work in September 2002, following legislation which was introduced as part of the Police Reform Act 2002. Therefore, data on police community support officers are not available prior to 31 March 2003.
	
		
			  Police officer strength (FTE)( 1)  for England and Avon and Somerset as at 31 March 1997 to 31 March 2009 
			   1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003( 3) 
			 England 118,459 118,138 117,195 115,324 116,440 120,073 124,158 
			 Avon and Somerset 2,989 2,976 2,999 2,934 2,994 3,096 3,149 
		
	
	
		
			   2004( 3)  2005( 3)  2006( 3)  2007( 3)  2008( 3)  2009( 3) 
			 England 129,691 131,950 132,105 132,474 132,313 136,481 
			 Avon and Somerset 3,401 3,384 3,389 3,375 3,339 3,303 
			 (1) Full-time equivalent. All officers less staff on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave (comparable with previously published figures). (2) This and other tables contain full-time equivalent figures that have been rounded to the nearest whole number. Because of rounding, there may be an apparent discrepancy between totals and the sums of the constituent items. (3) Comparable strength (excludes those on career breaks, or maternity/paternity leave). the police numbers task force (2001) recommended that a clear presentation was made of the numbers of staff employed by police forces including those seconded into the force and those on any type of long or short term absence. These new calculations were first used in 2003, and are not comparable with data prior to March 2003. The data from 2003 onwards used here are termed comparable because they have been calculated on the old basis to allow comparison 
		
	
	
		
			  Police community support officer strength( 1)  (FTE)( 2)  for England and Avon and Somerset as at 31 March 2003 to 31 March 2008( 3) 
			   2003  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008  2009 
			 England 1,146 3,309 5,947 6,499 12,856 15,108 15,802 
			 Avon and Somerset 0 45 139 130 302 377 381 
			 (1) This table contains full-time equivalent figures that have been rounded to the nearest whole number. Because of rounding, there may be an apparent discrepancy between totals and the sums of the constituent items. (2) Full-time equivalent include those on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave. (3) Police community support officers were introduced in statute in 2002, therefore data is not available prior to 2002-03.

Police

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much police forces have paid to release private vehicles to their owners from local authority compounds in each of the last five years.

David Hanson: The information requested is not held centrally and could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost.

Police: Ethnic Groups

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers of each ethnicity there were in Leeds, North-West constituency in each year since 2005; and what percentage of the total number of police officers was in each ethnic group in each such year.

David Hanson: Data on ethnicity of police officers are only collected centrally at police force area level.

Police: Pay

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what proportion of police officers earn more than £18,000 a year.

David Hanson: All full-time police officers earn above £18,000 per annum. As from 1 September 2009, the starting salary for a full-time police officer is £22,680.

Radicalism

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what cross-departmental committees with the purpose of tackling extremism there are; which Departments are represented on each such committee; and what the  (a) membership and  (b) terms of reference are of each.

David Hanson: The Ministerial Committee on National Security, International Relations and Development (NSID) exists to consider issues relating to national security, and the Governments' international, European and international development policies. The NSID Sub-Committee on Tackling Extremism (NSID(E)) considers issues relating to tackling extremism. Details of these committees' membership and terms of reference are as follows.
	In support of NSID there are, at official level, a range of specific programme boards, projects boards and working groups across government which consider extremism.
	 Ministerial Committee on National Security, International Relations and Development (NSID)
	 Composition
	Prime Minister (Chair)
	Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (alternate Chair)
	Secretary of State for the Home Department (alternate Chair)
	Chancellor of the Exchequer
	Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor
	Secretary of State for Health
	Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform
	Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	Secretary of State for International Development
	Secretary of State for Defence
	Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government
	Secretary of State for Transport
	Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families
	Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change
	Minister for the Cabinet Office; and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
	Attorney-General
	Minister for Security and Counter-Terrorism
	Other Ministers, the Chief of the Defence Staff, the Chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee, the Heads of the Intelligence Agencies, the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, and the President of the Association of Chief Police Officers may be invited to attend as required.
	 Terms of Reference
	To consider issues relating to national security, and the Government's international, European and international development policies.
	 Sub-Committee on Tackling Extremism (NSID(E))
	 Composition
	Prime Minister (Chair)
	Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
	Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor
	Secretary of State for the Home Department
	Secretary of State for International Development
	Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government
	Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families
	Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
	Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
	Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills
	Chief Secretary to the Treasury
	Secretary of State for Wales
	Minister for the Cabinet Office; and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
	Attorney-General
	Minister for Security and Counter-Terrorism
	Other Ministers, the Chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee, the President of the Association of Chief Police Officers, and other officials, may also be invited to attend as necessary.
	 Terms of Reference
	To consider issues relating to tackling extremism; and report as necessary to the Committee on National Security, International Relations and Development and the Committee on Domestic Affairs

Repatriation

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average payment to a foreign national under the Facilitated Returns Scheme has been since its inception.

Phil Woolas: The Facilitated Returns Scheme (FRS), launched in October 2006, accounted for around a quarter of the total removals of foreign national offenders in 2007 and around a third of removals in 2008. Of those removed under FRS in 2008, less than three-quarters took up the reintegration package on return.
	The average amount received per foreign national offender who claimed the reintegration assistance in 2008 was less than £2,500.

Security: Greater London

Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment he has made of the official threat level in respect of the new year celebrations in London.

David Hanson: holding answer 16 December 2009
	The threat level is kept under constant review. The current threat level to the United Kingdom from international terrorism is assessed by the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre to be SUBSTANTIAL, meaning an attack is a strong possibility. SUBSTANTIAL indicates a continuing high level of threat and that an attack might well occur without further warning.
	The overall threat level to the UK is the only threat level which is made public. There are a number of other sector, area and event specific threat levels which are not made public but which are communicated to the police and security practitioners.
	As always, the police will take all measures they deem necessary and appropriate to protect the public during the new year celebrations in London.

Serious Organised Crime Agency: Bullying

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many complaints of bullying of staff within the Serious and Organised Crime Agency have been brought in each year since 2006.

Alan Campbell: The information is as follows:
	
		
			  Calendar year  Number of bullying cases 
			 2006 6 
			 2007 4 
			 2008 16 
			 2009 8

UK Border Agency

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to his letter to the hon. Member for Thurrock of 1 June 2009 in respect of case reference W1035264-CTS M11279/9, handled by the UK Border Agency's Case Resolution Team, for what reason the undertaking to conclude the case within three months has not been complied with; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 10 December 2009
	 The Home Secretary replied to my hon. Friend on 8 December 2009.

TREASURY

Banks: Loans

Alan Simpson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent estimate he has made of the number of banks which have secured the agreement of customers to long-term fixed-rate mortgages for periods during which such banks had forecast that interest rates would be reduced in each of the last three years; and what his policy is on that practice.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Government do not hold this information.

Benefits: Children

John Battle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many child tax credit applications were contested with two or more individuals asserting claims for the same child in  (a) 2005-06,  (b) 2006-07,  (c) 2007-08 and  (d) 2008-09;
	(2)  in how many cases two or more individuals asserted child benefit claims for the same child in  (a) 2005-06,  (b) 2006-07,  (c) 2007-08 and  (d) 2008-09.

Stephen Timms: Reliable information is not available, as HM Revenue and Customs' system does not accurately capture the number of competing claims.

Boilers: Government Assistance

Michael Moore: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the statement of 9 December 2009,  Official Report, column 365W, on the pre-Budget report, when the boiler scrappage scheme will become operational; what the  (a) eligibility criteria and  (b) application process will be for the scheme; whether the scheme will be open to applications from Scotland; and if he will make a statement.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Greener Boiler Incentive scheme is being implemented by the Department of Energy and Climate Change, which is working to launch the scheme at the earliest opportunity in 2010.
	The incentive will be available to all households in England replacing a working G rated boiler with a high efficiency boiler or renewable heat technology, and application details will be published in due course.
	The scheme will be available in England only, as the encouragement of energy efficiency other than by prohibition or regulation is a devolved matter in Scotland and Wales, and in Northern Ireland responsibility for energy policy, including energy efficiency, is also a devolved matter.

Child Benefit

David Chaytor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many claims for child benefit have been made in each of the last three years.

Stephen Timms: holding answer 9 December 2009
	The information requested is provided in the following table.
	
		
			   Child benefit claims  (Thousand) 
			 2006-07 928 
			 2007-08 972 
			 2008-09 978 
			 (1) New claims, claims for an additional child, or a claim for transfer of entitlement. 
		
	
	These figures do not include child benefit claims already in payment.

Child Benefit

John Battle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many requests to expedite individuals' child benefit claims were made  (a) by (i) local authorities, (ii) voluntary agencies, (iii) Jobcentre Plus office, (iv) hospitals, (v) hon. Members, (vi) local councillors and (vii) claimants and  (b) in total in (A) 2005-06, (B) 2006-07, (C) 2007-08 and (D) 2008-09;
	(2)  how many requests have been made to expedite individuals' child benefit claims  (a) by (i) local authorities, (ii) voluntary agencies, (iii) Jobcentre Plus offices, (iv) hospitals, (v) hon. Members, (vi) local councillors, (vii) claimants and  (b) in total in (A) 2005-06, (B) 2006-07, (C) 2007-08 and (D) 2008-09.

Stephen Timms: The information requested is not available, as the Child Benefit Office does not collect the number of requests to expedite individuals' child benefit claims.

Child Benefit

John Battle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the longest time was for payment of a child benefit claim to be started for  (a) UK nationals,  (b) non-UK EEA nationals,  (c) A8 EEA nationals,  (d) A2 EEA nationals and  (e) non-European nationals in (i) 2005-06, (ii) 2006-07, (iii) 2007-08 and (iv) 2008-09.

Stephen Timms: The information is not available broken down by the categories requested. However, for information on the time taken to pay new child benefit claims in 2006-07; 2007-08 and 2008-09 I refer my right hon. Friend to the answers given to the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, South and East Cleveland (Dr. Kumar) on 2 February 2009,  Official Report, column 894W; the hon. Member for Stroud (Mr. Drew) on 22 October 2008,  Official Report, column 356W and to the hon. Member for Glasgow, East (John Mason), on 27 April 2009,  Official Report, columns 1046-47W.
	I also refer my right hon. Friend to the answer given to the hon. Member for West Ham (Lyn Brown) on 12 January 2009,  Official Report, column 328W and the hon. Member for Glasgow, East (John Mason), on 27 April 2009,  Official Report, columns 1046-47W.
	HM Revenue and Customs aims to pay 66 per cent. of new child benefit claims in nine working days in 2009-10 and all claims in an average of 20 calendar days.

Child Benefit

John Battle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the largest sum of child benefit paid retrospectively to an individual or couple was in  (a) 2009,  (b) 2008 and  (c) the last five years.

Stephen Timms: The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost, as HM Revenue and Customs does not systematically compile information about the size of individual child benefit payments made each year.

Child Trust Fund

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how much his Department has spent on advertising and promoting the Child Trust Fund in each year since its establishment;
	(2)  what recent discussions he has had with the Northern Ireland Minister of Finance on the operation of the Child Trust Fund in Northern Ireland;
	(3)  how many Child Trust Fund vouchers have been issued to people in North Belfast in each year since their introduction;
	(4)  how many Child Trust Fund accounts have been opened by people in each constituency in Northern Ireland;
	(5)  how much money has been paid into Child Trust Fund accounts in Northern Ireland.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Various statistical information regarding the Child Trust Fund is published on HM Revenue and Customs website at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/ctf/stats.htm
	The total number of accounts opened and vouchers issued in each constituency can be found within the constituency statistics. Information about each year's media expenditure can be found in the relevant statistical reports. The value of contributions to accounts by country can be found in the detailed distributional analysis.
	Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such meetings.

Christmas

David Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many Christmas trees were purchased by his Department and its agencies in each of the last five years; what the cost was of those trees in each year; from where the trees were sourced; what account was taken of the sustainability of the sources of the trees; and by what process the trees were disposed of.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: One tree is supplied each year by the PFI provider for the offices at 1 Horse Guards Road at no direct cost to the department. In each of the past three years, the Department's office in Norwich has purchased one tree, sourced from a local forest, at a cost of approximately £150 each year. The tree is subsequently recycled.

Christmas

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much his Department has budgeted for Christmas trees in 2009.

Stephen Timms: holding answer 15 December 2009
	The Treasury does not have a budget for Christmas trees in 2009-10 as one is supplied by the building's PFI provider.

Climate Change Levy: Agriculture

James Paice: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the monetary value of the contribution to Climate Change Levy receipts to the Carbon Trust from the  (a) horticulture,  (b) pig and  (c) poultry industry since 2001.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: In general, the Government do not hypothecate revenue. Income from taxes and other revenues are pooled in the consolidated fund so that spending can be prioritised across the range of Government activities in the most efficient way.
	When the Climate Change Levy package was introduced in 2001 some revenue was notionally hypothecated to help establish the Carbon Trust-an independent body now sponsored by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC). It is primarily grant-funded by DECC and the Devolved Administrations, and in 2008-09 also received grant funding from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural affairs, and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Corporation Tax: Patents

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what revenue accrued to the Exchequer from corporation tax applied to patents in each year since 1997.

Stephen Timms: The information requested is not available, as companies are not required to distinguish income from patents when assessing their liability to corporation tax.

Departmental Art Works

Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much his Department spent on art works in the last 12 months.

Stephen Timms: Works of art form part of antiques spending, which is shown in note 11 to the 2008-09 annual report and accounts (HC 611), available from
	www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/annual_report09.htm

Departmental Billing

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many and what proportion of invoices submitted to his Department have been paid within 10 days in each month since October 2008; and if he will make a statement.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Information on the Treasury's performance against the Government's commitment to pay invoices within 10 days since October 2008 is set out in the following table.
	
		
			  Month  Invoices paid within 10 working days  Percentage of invoices paid within 10 working days 
			  2008   
			 November 582 90.09 
			 December 570 93.75 
			
			  2009   
			 January 548 91.18 
			 February 639 96.82 
			 March 750 96.53 
			 April 578 95.54 
			 May 494 93.92 
			 June 620 98.73 
			 July 597 97.07 
			 August 506 98.64 
			 September 534 98.52 
			 October 498 96.89 
			 November 602 99.18

Departmental Conferences

Graham Stuart: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many  (a) away days and  (b) conferences that took place outside the Public Works Loan Board's buildings attended by civil servants in the Public Works Loan Board there have been since 2005; and what the cost was of each;
	(2)  how many  (a) away days and  (b) conferences that took place outside the Debt Management Office's buildings attended by civil servants in that Office there have been since 2005; and what the cost was of each.

Ian Pearson: No central records are held on Debt Management Office (including the Public Works Loan Board which is an operational unit of the DMO) away days and attendance at conferences. This information could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost.

Departmental Conferences

Graham Stuart: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many  (a) away days and  (b) conferences that took place outside his Department's building attended by civil servants in his Department there have been since 2005; and what the cost was of each.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr. Hammond) on 14 December 2009,  Official Report, column 850W.

Departmental Coordination: Scotland

Angus MacNeil: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what  (a) written correspondence,  (b) electronic correspondence,  (c) meetings and  (d) other communications he has had with the Secretary of State for Scotland on (i) the Scottish economy and (ii) road fuel duty taxation in 2008-09.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 14 December 2009
	The Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Secretary of State for Scotland communicated on a number of matters in 2008-09.

Departmental Information and Communications Technology

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what pay band his Department's Chief Information Officer (CIO) is employed; whether the CIO is employed on a fixed-term or permanent contract; and what the size is of the budget for which the CIO is responsible in the period 2009-10.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Chief Information Officer (CIO) for the Treasury Group is employed on a permanent contract at senior civil service pay band 1. The budgets allocated to work related to these CIO responsibilities in 2008-09 total £20 million (rounded to the nearest £5 million).

Departmental Legal Costs

David Drew: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much his Department has spent on external legal advice in respect of  (a) the Assets Protection Scheme,  (b) bank bail outs,  (c) the merger of HBOS and Lloyds TSB and  (d) the Northern Rock rescue; and if he will make a statement.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the NAO report 'Maintaining financial stability across the United Kingdom's banking system', published in December (page 24, figure 7) which is available at:
	http://www.nao.org.uk/publications/0910/uk banking system.aspx
	Agreements between the Treasury and certain institutions mean that the majority of these fees are recoverable and this sum does not therefore represent a net cost to the Treasury.

Departmental Legal Costs

David Drew: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what process is used to appoint or draw up contracts with external lawyers to advise his Department; and if he will make a statement.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Department uses a call-off process from any appropriate Collaborative Framework Agreement, or competitive tendering, to procure external legal services from solicitors' firms. For external counsel, the Department uses the Panel and nomination procedures approved by the Attorney-General, details of which are set out on the website of the Attorney-General's Office.

Departmental Legislation

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what criminal offences have been  (a) created and  (b) abolished by secondary legislation sponsored by his Department since 1 May 2008.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: No offences were abolished during the relevant period.
	The following offences were created during the relevant period by secondary legislation:
	1. The Community Emissions Trading Scheme (Allocation of Allowances for Payment) (Amendment) Regulations 2008 (SI 2008/1939), which came into force on 12 August 2008, inserted regulation 9B into the Community Emissions Trading Scheme (Allocation of Allowances for Payment) Regulations 2008 (SI 2008/1825) which created an offence of breach of regulation 9A (wrongful disclosure).
	2. The Landsbanki Freezing Order 2008 (SI 2008/2668), which came into force on 10 October 2008, created the following offences:
	(i) Article 5: Breach of a freezing prohibition in article 4.
	(ii) Article 7: Knowingly or recklessly providing false information in relation to licenses.
	(iii) Article 11: Liability of officers of bodies corporate.
	3. The Burma/Myanmar (Financial Restrictions) Regulations 2009 (SI 2009/1494), which came into force on 18 June 2009, created the following offences:
	(i) Regulation 13: Prohibition against financing designated enterprises.
	(ii) Regulation 14: Prohibition against creating a joint venture.
	4. The Terrorism (United Nations Measures) Order 2009 (SI 2009/1747), which came into force on 10 August 2009, created the following offences, in relation to financial sanctions imposed on persons for reasons in relation to terrorism:
	(i) Article 10: Freezing funds and economic resources of a restricted person.
	(ii) Article 11: Making funds or financial services available to a restricted person.
	(iii) Article 12: Making funds or financial services available for the benefit of a restricted person.
	(iv) Article 13: Making economic resources available to a restricted person.
	(v) Article 14: Making economic resources available for the benefit of a restricted person.
	(vi) Article 16: Circumventing prohibitions etc.
	5. To ensure the effective transposition of the Payment Services Directive (2007/64/EC) (in force on 1 November 2009) by the Payment Services Regulations (PSR) (SI 2009/209), the following offences in Part 9 of the PSR were created:
	(i) Regulation 110: Prohibition on provision of payment services by persons other than payment service providers.
	(ii) Regulation 111: False claims to be a payment service provider or exempt.
	(iii) Regulation 113: Contravention of regulation 49(2) (disclosure of charges and rate for currency conversion) or regulation 50(2) (disclosure of charge for use of payment instrument).
	(iv) Regulation 114: Misleading the FSA or the OFT.
	(v) Regulation 116: Liability of officers of bodies corporate etc.

Departmental Manpower

Crispin Blunt: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many staff of his Department were in its redeployment pool on 1  (a) January,  (b) April,  (c) July and  (d) October 2009.

Stephen Timms: HM Treasury retain a rolling record of staff in the redeployment pool, rather than a month-by-month record. On 14 December there were 19 staff in the HM Treasury redeployment pool.

Departmental Written Questions

Mark Harper: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many and what percentage of Parliamentary Questions tabled for written answer by his Department on a named day in session 2008-09 received a substantive answer on that day.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Glasgow, East (John Mason) on 9 December 2009,  Official Report, column 405W.

Employee Benefit Trusts

Vincent Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether his Department considers the provision of an interest free loan to be a qualifying benefit for the purpose of tax relief on contributions to an employee benefit trust.

Stephen Timms: holding answer 9 December 2009
	Provision of an interest free loan is not a qualifying benefit for the purpose of tax relief on contributions to an employee benefit trust.

Employee Benefit Trusts

Vincent Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many employee benefit trusts registered with HM Revenue and Customs have only one beneficiary.

Stephen Timms: There is no obligation to notify HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) of the number of beneficiaries per Employee Benefit Trust (EBT). In HMRC's experience EBTs with only one beneficiary are very uncommon.

Equitable Life Ex-gratia Payment Scheme Review

Chloe Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will require Sir John Chadwick to report by a specified date his advice on an ex-gratia payment scheme to Equitable Life policy holders.

Liam Byrne: Sir John is making good progress with his work and the Government expect him to submit his final report in spring 2010.
	Once the Government have had the opportunity to consider Sir John's advice, details of a payment scheme that is fair to both taxpayers and policyholders will be announced.

Government Actuary's Department: Conferences

Graham Stuart: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many  (a) away days and  (b) conferences that took place outside the Government Actuary's Department's buildings attended by civil servants in the Government Actuary's Department there have been since 2005; and what the cost was of each.

Ian Pearson: The information is as follows:
	(a) The Government Actuary and his senior management team currently hold two away days each year to review the Department's strategy and to formulate a yearly business plan. Prior to May 2008 one away day took place each year. The cost each financial year since 2005-06 is as follows:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2005-06 625 
			 2006-07 669 
			 2007-08 512 
			 2008-09 1,345 
			 2009-10 (to date) 1,689 
		
	
	(b) GAD's staff, as part of their ongoing professional development, attend a number of conferences and seminars. The number of conferences attended and associated costs in each financial year since 2005-06 are as follows:
	
		
			   Number of conferences  Cost (£ 000) 
			 2005-06 71 31 
			 2006-07 76 36 
			 2007-08 58 27 
			 2008-09 75 34 
			 2009-10 (to date) 56 38

Government Securities

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many gilts have been issued by the Government through  (a) pre-announced auctions,  (b) syndication and  (c) mini-tenders in each of the last five years.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The information requested is available on the DMO's website at:
	http://www.dmo.gov.uk/

Housing: Valuation

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to the answer of 16 October 2009,  Official Report, column 1123W, on housing: valuation, when the code of practice, Valuations for Right to Buy, Right to Acquire and Equity Sharing of Social Housing was (i) first produced and (ii) last updated; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the methodology used by the Valuation Office Agency when calculating the financial value of the potential for further development.

Ian Pearson: The code of practice, 'Valuations for Right to Buy, Right to Acquire and Equity Sharing of Social Housing' was published by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors in October 2006 and was updated in May 2009.
	The method of valuation ('methodology') used by the Valuation Office Agency in 'hope value' cases, where the valuer reflects the potential for further development in the market value, will vary according to the individual circumstances and attributes of the property being valued. There is no prescribed methodology. The valuation approach adopted is a matter of professional judgement for the valuer using his/her experience and skills (having regard to relevant case law), knowledge of potential purchasers and how the latter would approach the valuation of the subject property.

Inheritance Tax

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many estates paid inheritance tax in each of the last 10 years;
	(2)  how much revenue has accrued to the Treasury from inheritance tax in each of the last 10 years;
	(3)  how many estates he estimates will pay inheritance tax  (a) in 2010-11 and  (b) in the subsequent 20 years.

Stephen Timms: The numbers of estates which paid inheritance tax can be found at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/tax_receipts/table1-4.pdf
	The amounts of inheritance tax received each year can be found at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/tax_receipts/table1-2.pdf
	for years since 2001-02. Annual receipts for older years can be found at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/tax_receipts/1_2_v2_dec05.pdf
	Receipts and numbers of estates paying inheritance tax for the years 1999-2000 to 2008-09 are summarised in the following table:
	
		
			  Tax year  Number of estates paying inheritance tax (nearest 1,000)  Inheritance tax receipts (£ million) 
			 1999-2000 20,000 2,047 
			 2000-01 22,000 2,221 
			 2001-02 23,000 2,355 
			 2002-03 27,000 2,354 
			 2003-04 30,000 2,504 
			 2004-05 32,000 2,922 
			 2005-06 33,000 3,259 
			 2006-07 34,000 3,545 
			 2007-08 27,000 3,824 
			 2008-09 16,000 2,838 
		
	
	The figure of 16,000 taxpaying estates in 2008-09 represents 3 per cent. of all estates left on death in that year.
	The current forecast for 2009-10 and 2010-11 is for about 15,000 estates paying tax each year. Forecast numbers of taxpayers are not available for later years as they are subject to a great deal of uncertainty because of possible changes to forecasts of asset prices.

Interest Rates

Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  pursuant to the Pre-Budget Report, Cm 7747, what assessment he has made of the effect on long-term interest rates of the Government's borrowing requirement; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the effect on UK interest rates of his forecasts for financing and debt management set out in paragraph 7.61 of the Pre-Budget Report, Cm 7747; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  pursuant to Table B3 of the Pre-Budget Report, Cm 7747, what assessment he has made of the effect on UK interest rates of the level of net debt; and if he will make a statement;
	(4)  what assessment he has made of future long-term trends in UK interest rates; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: holding answers 14 December 2009
	 UK public debt levels are forecast to remain in line with other major economies, and debt interest costs in 2010-11 as a share of GDP and public expenditure are forecast to remain below the levels in 1997. The Government have set out a credible plan for delivering a sustainable consolidation in the public finances over the medium-term, including the requirement set out in the Fiscal Responsibility Bill that public sector net borrowing is reduced to 5.5 per cent. of GDP or less by 2013-14. The average 10-year yield on government bonds for the current decade (to 9( )December 2009) is significantly below the average in any of the previous three decades.
	The debt interest forecast uses interest rates based on latest market expectations. The short-term interest rates used for the 2009 pre-Budget report forecast are set out in box B1 in the pre-Budget report 2009 document.
	The relationship between gilt yields and gilt supply is not straightforward: it is difficult to separate out the effects of the level of supply from other influences on yields.

Mortgages

Harry Cohen: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his policy is on fiscal incentives for people with mortgages on domestic properties who are  (a) up to date with their payments and  (b) in arrears with their payments to work rather than claim benefits; and what account this policy takes of the practice among mortgage lenders of adjusting their fees to reflect whether or not an applicant is receiving an income from employment.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Contributions can be made towards the mortgage interest costs of homeowners through income support (IS), income-based jobseeker's allowance (JSA), income-related employment and support allowance (ESA), and pension credit (PC). This is intended to provide a reasonable contribution towards customers' mortgage interest liabilities in order to protect against repossession. Where the amount paid is less than that charged by the lender, the onus is on the customer to keep the account in order by making any additional payments that are necessary.
	For working age customers, a waiting period is served before assistance can be provided. This is because Government believe that those of working age taking on major financial commitments should ensure they are able to maintain these in the short term in the event of a change in circumstances. Last year we announced a temporary reduction in the waiting period from 39 weeks to 13 weeks, to provide additional support during the downturn. At the same time, we introduced a two-year time limit to Support for Mortgage Interest payments for customers claiming jobseeker's allowance. There is also a four week run-on for customers who have been in receipt of IS, ESA or JSA for at least 26 weeks to provide additional security when taking up a new job or entering work.
	We are not aware of any practice among mortgage lenders of adjusting their fees to reflect customers' employment status.

National Debt

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received on steps to reduce the level of Government debt included in the 2009 pre-Budget report, Cm 7747; and if he will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: Treasury Ministers and officials receive representations from a wide variety of organisations.
	The 2009 pre-Budget report set out the Government's plan to halve the deficit over four years, which is consistent with debt falling as a per cent. of GDP in 2015-16. The Government's Fiscal Responsibility Bill will enshrine these plans in legislation.

NHS: Information and Communications Technology

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the pre-Budget report, Cm 7747, from which components of the National Programme for IT he expects the proposed efficiency savings to be taken.

Mike O'Brien: I have been asked to reply.
	Since its inception, the Department has consulted and communicated with its national health service stakeholders, including clinicians, senior NHS managers and information management and technology staff, and the medical professional representative and health regulatory bodies, on a frequent and regular basis about all aspects of the NHS information technology programme. My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State has also often discussed issues relating to the programme in his regular meetings with the Chancellor.
	As part of the current Government-wide drive to find efficiency savings and better value for money on major projects, officials are holding ongoing discussions with the Treasury, and with suppliers, about how these might be generated in relation to the national programme.

Public Finance

David Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his Department's publication Long-term public finance report: an analysis of fiscal sustainability, what the figures are which are represented by each bar in  (a) the tables in box 5.B, page 39,  (b) chart 6.B, page 45,  (c) chart 6.C, page 46,  (d) chart 6.D, page 47,  (e) chart 6.E, page 48,  (f) chart 6.F, page 50,  (g) chart 6.H, page 52 and  (h) chart 6.I, page 53.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The requested data from the 2009 Long-term public finance report are set out in the tables.
	As noted in the 2009 Long-term public finance report, long-term fiscal projections, unlike forecasts, are not based on a detailed analysis of all relevant factors. They are an illustration of how spending and revenue would evolve under a set of given assumptions and should therefore be caveated as involving a high degree of uncertainty.
	
		
			  First chart from Box 5.B 
			  GDP  2009  2019  2029  2039  2049  2059 
			 ONS Principal 100 128 161 203 259 321 
			 High longevity 100 128 161 204 260 323 
			 Low fertility 100 128 160 199 248 300 
			 Low life expectancy 100 128 161 203 258 319 
			 Low migration 100 127 158 196 247 303 
			 Low population 100 127 157 191 235 280 
			 1.75 per cent. productivity 100 125 153 189 235 284 
			 2.25 per cent. productivity 100 131 169 219 286 363 
		
	
	
		
			  Second chart from Box 5.B 
			  GDP per capita  2009  2019  2029  2039  2049  2059 
			 ONS Principal 100 119 142 171 209 251 
			 High longevity 100 119 141 169 205 244 
			 Low fertility 100 121 145 173 212 252 
			 Low life expectancy 100 120 142 173 213 258 
			 Low migration 100 120 142 170 208 250 
			 Low population 100 121 145 175. 215 260 
			 1.75 per cent. productivity 100 117 135 159 189 222 
			 2.25 per cent. productivity 100 123 149 184 231 283 
		
	
	
		
			  Data from chart 6.B 
			  Percentage 
			  Health  2009-10  2019-20  2029-30  2039-40  2049-50  2059-60 
			 High longevity 8.0 8.6 9.4 10.1 10.5 11.0 
			 Low fertility 8.0 8.4 9.2 10.0 10.4 11.0 
			 Low life expectancy 8.0 8.5 9.3 9.9 10.1 10.4 
			 Low population 8.0 8.4 9.3 10.1 10.5 11.1 
			 ONS Principal 8.0 8.5 9.3 10.0 10.3 10.7 
			 2.25 Productivity 8.0 8.6 9.3 9.8 10.0 10.3 
			 1.75 Productivity 8.0 8.5 9.4 10.2 10.7 11.2 
			 Earnings and CPI growth 8.0 8.1 8.3 8.4 8.1 8.0 
			 Falling drug prices 8.0 8.2 8.8 9.3 9.5 9.8 
			 Healthy ageing 8.0 8.5 8.9 9.3 9.4 9.7 
		
	
	
		
			  Data from chart 6.C 
			  Percentage 
			  Long-term care  2009-10  2019-20  2029-30  2039-40  2049-50  2059-60 
			 High longevity 1.2 1.4 1.7 2.1 2.4 2.7 
			 Low fertility 1.2 1.4 1.7 2.0 2.2 2.4 
			 Low life expectancy 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 1.9 1.9 
			 Low migration 1.2 1.4 1.7 2.0 2.2 2.3 
			 Low population 1.2 1.4 1.7 1.9 2.0 2.0 
			 ONS Principal 1.2 1.4 1.7 1.9 2.1 2.2 
			 2.25 Productivity 1.2 1.4 1.7 2.0 2.1 2.3 
			 1.75 Productivity 1.2 1.4 1.7 1.9 2.1 2.2 
			 Constant health 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 
		
	
	
		
			  Data from chart 6.D 
			  Percentage 
			  Education  2009-10  2019-20  2029-30  2039-40  2049-50  2059-60 
			 High longevity 6.0 5.9 6.0 5.8 5.7 5.7 
			 Low fertility 6.0 5.7 5.4 5.3 5.1 5.1 
			 Low life expectancy 6.0 5.9 6.0 5.8 5.7 5.8 
			 Low migration 6.0 5.9 5.9 5.8 5.7 5.8 
			 Low population 6.0 5.7 5.4 5.3 5.1 5.1 
			 ONS Principal 6.0 5.9 6.0 5.8 5.7 5.8 
			 2.25 Productivity 6.0 6.0 6.0 5.9 5.7 5.8 
			 1.75 Productivity 6.0 5.8 5.9 5.7 5.6 5.7 
		
	
	
		
			  Data from chart 6.E 
			  Percentage 
			  Public service pensions  2009-10  2019-20  2029-30  2039-40  2049-50  2059-60 
			 High longevity 1.8 1.9 1.9 1.8 1.7 1.8 
			 Low life expectancy 1.8 1.9 1.9 1.8 1.7 1.7 
			 ONS Principal 1.8 1.9 1.9 1.8 1.7 1.7 
			 2.25 Productivity 1.8 1.9 1.9 1.8 1.6 1.6 
			 1.75 Productivity 1.8 1.9 2.0 1.9 1.8 1.8 
		
	
	
		
			  Data from chart 6. F 
			  Percentage 
			  Pensions  2009-10  2019-20  2029-30  2039-40  2049-50  2059-60 
			 High longevity 5.5 5.3 5.9 6.5 6.5 7.4 
			 Low fertility 5.5 5.3 6.0 6.7 6.8 8.0 
			 Low life expectancy 5.5 5.3 5.9 6.5 6.6 7.5 
			 Low migration 5.5 5.3 6.1 6.8 6.8 7.9 
			 Low population 5.5 5.3 6.1 6.9 7.2 8.5 
			 ONS Principal 5.5 5.3 5.9 6.5 6.5 7.4 
			 2.25 Productivity 5.5 5.2 5.7 6.1 6.0 6.7 
			 1.75 Productivity 5.5 5.3 6.2 6.9 7.1 8.3 
		
	
	
		
			  Data from chart 6.H 
			  Percentage 
			  Taxes on income and wealth  2009-10  2019-20  2029-30  2039-40  2049-50  2059-60 
			 High longevity 11.6 11.6 11.6 11.7 11.5 11.7 
			 Low life expectancy 11.6 11.6 11.6 11.6 11.4 11.5 
			 Low migration 11.6 11.6 11.5 11.6 11.4 11.5 
			 Low population 11.6 11.6 11.6 11.7 11.5 11.5 
			 ONS Principal 11.6 11.6 11.6 11.6 11.5 11.6 
			 2.25 Productivity 11.6 11.8 11.8 11.8 11.6 11.7 
			 1.75 Productivity 11.6 11.5 11.5 11.5 11.3 11.4 
			 Increased part-time (50 years) 11.6 11.5 11.4 11.4 11.1 11.1 
			 Low fertility 11.6 11.6 11.6 11.8 11.6 11.7 
		
	
	
		
			  Data from chart 6.1 
			  Percentage 
			  Taxes on consumptio n and production  2009-10  2019-20  2029-30  2039-40  2049-50  2059-60 
			 High longevity 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 11.3 11.4 
			 Low life expectancy 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.2 11.1 11.1 
			 Low migration 11.1 11.1 11.3 11.3 11.2 11.3 
			 Low population 11.1 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.2 11.3 
			 ONS Principal 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.3 11.2 11.3 
			 2.25 Productivity 11.1 11.3 11.4 11.5 11.3 11.4 
			 1.75 Productivity 11.1 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.0 11.2 
			 Reduced tobaccos and alcohol 11.1 11.1 11.2 11.1 11.0 11.0 
			 Increased tobacco and alcohol 11.1 11.2 11.4 11.5 11.5 11.6 
			 Low fertility 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 11.3 11.4

Public Sector: Pay

John Redwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many higher paid public sector posts will require his Department's approval for payment of a salary above a defined level.

Liam Byrne: All public sector posts requiring ministerial approval of the appointment where there is a proposal to pay a salary of £150,000 or more will require my approval. In addition, any proposals to make a non-consolidated performance related payment of £50,000 or more to such posts will also require my approval. Detailed guidance on the process for applying for approval will be issued shortly.
	For all other public sector appointments, where ministerial approval is not required, the relevant Secretary of State will expect all public organisations within their sectors to publicly justify any appointments on salaries of £150,000 or more as well as the payment of £50,000 or more in non-consolidated performance pay.
	In terms of the number of posts requiring Treasury approval, this will depend on demand for senior public sector staff going forward, and the relevant labour market conditions at the time.

Public Sector: Pay

John Redwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the likely reduction in the number of higher paid public sector posts in the next three years.

Liam Byrne: The Government are committed to re-shaping the civil service and Putting the Frontline First: Smarter Government announced that Government will modernise civil service structures and reduce the cost of the senior civil service, saving £100 million annually within three years.

Departmental Conferences

Graham Stuart: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many  (a) away days and  (b) conferences that took place outside HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) buildings attended by civil servants in HMRC there have been since 2005; and what the cost was of each.

Stephen Timms: The information requested is not available as HM Revenue and Customs' systems do not separately identify away days and conferences.

Revenue and Customs: Manpower

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many  (a) staff are directly employed and  (b) consultants there are in each department of HM Revenue and Customs.

Stephen Timms: The number of staff directly employed by each business unit of HM Revenue and Customs as at 1 December 2009 is as follows:
	
		
			  Directorate  Headcount  Full-time equivalent 
			 Adjudicator's Office 58 56.94 
			 Anti-Avoidance Group 106 100.93 
			 Benefits and Credits 7,177 6,382.46 
			 Business Customer Unit 209 202.22 
			 Business International 80 77.13 
			 Capability Improvement 4 4 
			 Central Compliance 308 293.66 
			 Central Policy 155 145.52 
			 Chairman, CEO and Head of Tax 33 32.38 
			 Charity, Assets and Residence 2,468 2285 
			 Commercial 119 113.01 
			 Communications and Marketing 220 210.5 
			 Compliance and Enforcement Programme 320 313.41 
			 Corporation Tax and VAT 379 354.25 
			 Criminal Investigation 2,192 2,130.65 
			 Customer Contact 12,102 11,193.82 
			 Customer Operations 17,330 14,873.8 
			 Debt Management and Banking 7,846 6,913.76 
			 Departmental Transformation Programme 42 40.55 
			 Detection 22 20.86 
			 Estates and Support Services 1,751 1,635.75 
			 Excise, Customs, Stamps and Money 1,729 1,578.38 
			 Finance 386 354.24 
			 Government Banking Services 119 115.76 
			 Individuals 89 87.87 
			 Information Management Services 1,352 1,292.41 
			 Internal Audit 133 128.08 
			 Knowledge, Analysis and Intelligence 426 410.7 
			 Large Business Service 1,578 1,505.37 
			 Local Compliance 14,558 13,401.36 
			 Pacesetter Business Performance 69 67.84 
			 People Function 1,699 1,568.87 
			 PSN (PAYE, SA and NIC) 389 370.99 
			 Risk and Intelligence Services 2,875 2,681.75 
			 Security 104 99.82 
			 Solicitor's Office 392 370.04 
			 Specialist Investigations 1,646 1,575.5 
			 Strategy Development 13 13 
			 Total 80,478 73,002.58 
		
	
	Information on the number of individual consultants employed is not held centrally by the Department and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Revenue and Customs: Public Opinion

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many public opinion surveys HM Revenue and Customs has performed since 2006; and what the title of each such survey was.

Stephen Timms: HM Revenue and Customs conducts a wide range of surveys to understand the attitudes, needs and behaviours of their customers. Since 2006 HMRC have undertaken 66 surveys, with some repeated on more than one occasion. The titles of the surveys are as follows:
	Attitudes and behaviours in self-assessment taxpayers
	Cross Border Shopping-Oils Survey
	Charities, Assets and Residents (CAR) Customers Service Survey
	Child Benefit New Form testing
	Child Trust Fund (five phases)
	Complaints Tracking Research (three phases)
	Concept Testing for SA Carter Segments-Support Strategy
	Contact Centre Customer Satisfaction Survey (four phases)
	Customer experience of the simplified Main Tax Return pilot (two phases)
	Customer Journeys Individuals (two phases)
	Drivers of Compliance (two phases)
	DWP Joint Working trial (2nd phase)
	Enterprise Management Incentives (EMI) Evaluation Survey: Use of EMI and its perceived impact
	Evaluation of the Changes to Capital Gains Tax Since 1998
	Evaluation of the redesign of Enquiry Centres
	Gift Aid Donor Research
	HMRC Customer Service Survey (four phases)
	HMRC Research on SA Online Registration (two phases)
	Individuals Prioritisation (two phases)
	Innovative Guidance
	Key Factsheets for Employees and Pensioners
	Learning from Mistakes-Errors Work (two phases)
	March 2007 in-year customer service survey
	Panel Study of Tax Credit and Child Benefit Claimants 2008-11
	Pensioners quantitative survey
	Pensions Tax Simplification evaluation-Wave 2
	Pensions Taxation Reforms: A Baseline Survey of Individuals
	Pre SA mandation research (two phases)
	Reputation Index
	Reputation Tracking
	Research to explore the feasibility of collecting in-year estimates from tax credit claimants
	SA Products Evaluation
	Saving Gateway Second Pilot-Follow-Up Research
	Share Incentives Plan and Save as You Earn Survey of Employers and Employees (two phases)
	Survey of Savings and Investments for children: A baseline survey at the inception of the Child Trust Fund
	Survey of Trustees and Settlors Behaviour and Reasons for Setting up Trusts
	Tax credit claim form-Usability Testing
	Tax Credits Campaign Tracking
	Tax Credits Campaign Tracking Birmingham Pilot
	Tax Credits Campaign Tracking Renewals
	Tax Credits Renewals Guidance Notes Testing
	Tax Credits Trailblazers
	Tax for Business Campaign and Self Assessment Campaign
	Tax For Business Campaign Tracking Wave 6
	Tax Matters
	Taxback Project
	Taxpayer Advertising Tracking
	Understanding the relationships between HMRC customers, the Voluntary and Community Sector and HMRC.

Revenue and Customs: Sudbury

Tim Yeo: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many enquiries were made to HM Revenue and Customs enquiry centre at Crown Building, Sudbury in each of the last three years.

Stephen Timms: The number of customers who have visited Sudbury Enquiry Centre since 2006-07 is shown in the following table. The number of appointments represents those customers who needed face to face advice to resolve their enquiry. The remainder had their enquiry dealt with by being directed to HMRC's telephone helplines or website.
	
		
			   Total callers (All channels)  Adviser appointments 
			 2006-07 6,799 1,521 
			 2007-08 5,150 887 
			 2008-09 4,022 306 
			 2009-10 (end November) 2,232 166

Revenue and Customs: Sudbury

Tim Yeo: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many members of staff were employed at HM Revenue and Customs enquiry centre at Crown Building, Sudbury in each of the last three years.

Stephen Timms: The number of full-time equivalent staff employed at the HMRC Enquiry Centre Sudbury is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  December each year  Staff (full-time equivalent) 
			 2007 4 
			 2008 3 
			 2009 2.86

Revenue and Customs: Sudbury

Tim Yeo: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether there are plans to reduce the opening hours of the HM Revenue and Customs enquiry centre at Crown Building, Sudbury.

Stephen Timms: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr. Laws) on 14 December 2009,  Official Report, column 855W and confirm that Sudbury Enquiry Centre is included in the first phase of the review. No decision has yet been taken on new opening patterns for this Enquiry Centre.

Revenue and Customs: Telephone Services

John Battle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer for how many calls an interpreter was provided on  (a) the tax credits public helpline,  (b) the tax credits intermediaries helpline,  (c) the child benefit public helpline and  (d) all other HM Revenue and Customs helplines in (i) 2005-06, (ii) 2006-07, (iii) 2007-08 and (iv) 2008-09.

Stephen Timms: The breakdown requested is not available, as HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) do not capture the use of interpretation services by helpline. In 2007-08 HMRC used interpretation services across its helpline services in a total of 420,000 occasions; in 2008-09 this figure was 839,000.

Revenue and Customs: Telephone Services

John Battle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether his Department has responded to the Social Security Advisory Committee's Occasional Paper Number 7 recommendation  (a) call-backs should be offered by DWP and HMRC contact centre staff when a customer is calling from a mobile phone,  (b) HMRC helpline numbers should be transferred from 0845 to 0800 numbers and  (c) the information about the cost of calling HMRC should be improved significantly; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) contact centres will begin an in depth review of its numbering strategy in the first half of this year, and will respond to the Social Security Advisory Committee's occasional paper no. 7 as part of this review.

Revenue and Customs: Telephone Services

John Battle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what steps have been taken to improve the service of the tax credits public helpline to people from ethnic minorities under the race equality duty in the last 12 months; and what improvements are planned for the next 12 months;
	(2)  what steps have been taken to improve the service of the child benefit public helpline to people from ethnic minorities under the race equality duty in the last 12 months; and what improvements are planned for the next 12 months.

Stephen Timms: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has invited feedback and comments on its Race Equality Scheme (RES) for the period 2008-11 via its website at:
	www.hmrc.gov.uk/about/res-2008-11.pdf
	HMRC Contact Centres recognise that some customers can face issues around language and that these issues present barriers in their dealings with the Department. In the last 12 months the Department has carried out a review of the interpretation services it offers those customers. As a result it has introduced a pilot that enables a third party, nominated by the customer, to translate on their behalf. If, when evaluated, this pilot shows the anticipated improvements to customer experience, this approach will be adopted across the entire Contact Centre network.

Revenue and Customs: Telephone Services

John Battle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what steps have been taken to improve the service of the child benefit public helpline to disabled people under the disability equality duty in the last 12 months; and what improvements are planned for the next 12 months;
	(2)  what steps have been taken in the last 12 months to improve the service of the Tax Credits public helpline to disabled people under the disability equality duty; and what measures are proposed for the next 12 months.

Stephen Timms: In the last year HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have actively sought the engagement of both internal and external stakeholders to identify initiatives to improve the provision of services to customers with disabilities through the Department's Disabled Customer Contact Group (DCCG). As a result of this work HMRC Contact Centres, which administer both the Tax Credits and Child Benefits helplines, carried out a review of the Textphone service which is used to support customers who have a hearing or speech impairment. Following this review HMRC will be implementing a series of changes to improve the access to, and the reliability of, this service.
	In addition, as part of its Disability Discrimination Act action plan for 2010, HMRC is looking to improve staff awareness of disability issues through enhanced training so that the Department better identifies and responds to the needs of disabled customers.

Revenue and Customs: Telephone Services

John Battle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to the answer of 11 June 2009,  Official Report, column 983W, on welfare tax credits: telephone services, what the evidential basis is that some customers will pay more, others will pay less and for others there will be no change in relation to a charge from 0845 numbers to 0300.

Stephen Timms: HM Revenue and Customs does not hold information on individual customers call charges as calls are charged to the customer based on the tariff arrangements they have with their service provider, the device they use for the call and the location from which they call.
	However, reviews carried out of telephone service provider's tariff websites and Ofcom's own guide to telephone charges Number Crunching available at www.ofcom.org/files/numbering/2009/08/numbering.pdf. indicate that some customers will pay more, others will pay less and for others there will be no change in relation to a change from 0845 numbers to 0300.

Smuggling: Ivory

Richard Benyon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much ivory has been seized in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Huw Irranca-Davies: I have been asked to reply.
	During the five-year period from 2004 to 2009, the UK Border Agency made the following ivory seizures:
	
		
			  April to March  each year  Number of seizures  Number of pieces/weight( 1) 
			 2004-05 21 248 pieces plus 2,225 grams 
			 2005-06 22 44 pieces plus 857 grams 
			 2006-07 19 111 pieces plus 3,310 grams 
			 2007-08 11 64 pieces plus 9,747 grams 
			 2008-09 8 19 pieces plus 2,150 grams 
			 (1) Some ivory seizures are recorded in weight and others by the number of pieces seized. 
		
	
	We do not hold data on seizures carried out by local police forces.

Tax Avoidance: Yorkshire and the Humber

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to the statement of 9 December 2009,  Official Report, column 368, on the pre-Budget report, how many of the 100,000 offshore accounts being investigated by HM Revenue and Customs are thought to be held by persons or institutions in  (a) Yorkshire and the Humber and  (b) City of York.

Stephen Timms: The information requested is not currently available.
	The figure of 100,000 refers to the potential number of offshore account details HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will receive once all the relevant data from the banks is received. HMRC will be collating this information into a database and should be able to provide analysis based on this later this year.
	Many of these account holders may already be making correct returns and paying the right amount of tax. Others may choose to take advantage of the New Disclosure Opportunity (NDO) and be in the process of disclosing unpaid liabilities voluntarily. HMRC will commence investigations once the NDO has closed on 12 March 2010.

Tax Evasion

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people were convicted of tax evasion in each year since 2005; and if he will make a statement.

Vera Baird: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested is contained in the following table. This information has only been collected centrally since 2006-07 and figures for earlier years could be determined only at a disproportionate cost. While the number of cases prosecuted remained fairly even over the three years indicated, the number of individuals convicted rose in 2007-08 due to a number of long running complex prosecutions resulting in successful outcomes in that year. Many were multi-handed cases in which most or all defendants were convicted.
	
		
			   Number of individuals convicted in England and Wales( l) 
			 2006-07 258 
			 2007-08 328 
			 2008-09 226 
			 (1) Tax evasion has been defined as offences relating to VAT (non-complex and complex/MTIC), tax credits (non-complex and complex/organised) and direct tax (non-complex/Grabiner and complex).

Tax Yields

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much and what percentage of total taxation revenue has accrued to the Treasury from taxation on  (a) the financial sector and  (b) the housing sector in each of the last 12 years.

Stephen Timms: The information requested is not available. However, information on tax receipts by head of duty is available as follows:
	Stamp duty, capital gains tax and inheritance tax data are available at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/tax_receipts/table1-2.pdf
	and
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/tax_receipts/1_2_v2_dec05.pdf
	Capital gains tax and inheritance tax figures will reflect both housing and financial assets. Stamp duty will reflect shares, housing and commercial property.
	Pay As You Earn tax deducted from pay in the financial sector is available at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/income_tax/table2-10.pdf
	This covers the period 1999-2000 to 2006-07.
	Corporation tax data are available at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/corporate_tax/table11_1.pdf
	covering the period 2000-01 to 2008-09.
	Percentage figures for tax receipts by head of duty can be calculated from the overall amount of tax receipts, available in table C1 of the Public Finances Databank at:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/public_finances_databank.xls

Taxation: Bingo

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much revenue was raised through bingo taxation in each year since 2005.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Information on revenue collected from betting and gaming duties is published by HMRC and can be found in the online betting and gaming bulletin at the following address:
	https://www.uktradeinfo.com/index.cfm?task=bullbett

Taxation: Bingo

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received in 2009 on the level of bingo taxation.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Treasury Ministers and officials meet with, and receive representations from, a wide range of organisations and individuals in the public and private sectors as part of the usual policymaking process. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such representations.

Taxation: Bingo

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of receipts from indirect taxation was from bingo taxation in 2008-09.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Information on receipts from various tax regimes is published by HMRC and can be found at:
	https://www.uktradeinfo.com
	Revenue collected from bingo duty in 2008-09 equalled 0.05 per cent. of total indirect taxes receipts.

Taxation: Holiday Accommodation

Michael Weir: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what field research and site visits to self-catering properties were conducted by HM Revenue and Customs prior to the publication of its technical note, Withdrawing the Furnished Holiday Lettings Rules from 2010-11, published on 9 December 2009.

Stephen Timms: holding answer 16 December 2009
	 The technical note entitled Withdrawing the Furnished Holiday Lettings Rules from 2010-11 was prepared on the basis of representations received and meetings held with interested parties together with other publicly available information. We welcome comments on the note.

Taxation: Holiday Accommodation

Danny Alexander: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many UK residents with qualifying furnished holiday lettings (FHLs) in the European Economic Area have submitted claims under the FHLs rules since the extension of the rules to such properties in April 2009;
	(2)  what the cost has been of claims made under the furnished holiday letting rules up to 1 December 2009 by UK residents with qualifying lettings in the European Economic Area.

Stephen Timms: HM Revenue and Customs' (HMRC) administrative systems do not record whether properties let under furnished holiday lettings rules are located in the UK or European economic area.
	Estimates of the total cost of extending the furnished holiday letting rules to the European economic area until the end of 2009-10 were published in an impact assessment alongside the 2009 pre-Budget report available at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/pbr2009/furnished-holiday-ia-3760.pdf

Taxation: Holiday Accommodation

Danny Alexander: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what evidence must be provided by UK residents with qualifying furnished holiday lettings (FHLs) in the European Economic Area when they submit claims under the FHLs rules since the extension of the rules to such properties in April 2009.

Stephen Timms: Under the self assessment rules, businesses are not required to submit evidence when they make a tax claim, however they are required to maintain records to support their claim. HM Revenue and Customs may ask to see these records if the claim is selected for a compliance check.

Taxation: Revenues

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the proportion of revenue accruing to the Exchequer through indirect taxation from persons in the  (a) bottom quintile and  (b) top quintile of earners.

Stephen Timms: Expenditure data are, conventionally, segmented by equivalised household income, rather than earner income. The proportions of indirect tax paid by the top and bottom quintile of all households ranked by equivalised disposable income can be calculated from the information provided in table 14A of The effects of taxes and benefits on household income, 2006/07, available at
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/elmr/07_08/downloads/ELMR_Jul08_Jones.pdf

Transfer Pricing

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many advance pricing agreements  (a) have been made and  (b) were in force with multinational companies in each year since 2005; and in how many such cases (i) enforcement action was taken and (ii) penalties levied in transfer pricing disputes in each year.

Stephen Timms: The information requested is provided in the following tables.
	
		
			   Advance pricing agreements 
			   Made  In force 
			 2006 14 33 
			 2007 16 37 
			 2008 15 46 
		
	
	
		
			   Number of cases involving large business where transfer pricing adjustments were made 
			 2006-07 14 
			 2007-08 16 
			 2008-09 15 
		
	
	In 2008-09 49 cases involving smaller businesses were settled involving adjustments.
	No penalties were charged on transfer pricing issues in the years 2006-07 and 2007-08, penalties have been charged during 2008-09 but details of the number of cases where a penalty was appropriate is not readily available.

Welfare Tax Credits

John Battle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the longest time has been between a tax credit claim being made and payment being started for  (a) a UK national  (b) all non-UK EEA nationals,  (c) a A8 EEA national,  (d) a A2 EEA national and  (e) a non-European national in (i) 2005-06, (ii) 2006-07, (iii) 2007-08 and (iv) 2008-09.

Stephen Timms: The specific information requested is only available at disproportionate cost.
	For information about HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) targets and performance outturn in relation to tax credit in 2007-08 and earlier years, I refer my right hon. Friend to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Northavon (Steve Webb) on 24 February 2009,  Official Report, columns 534-36W. Information for 2008-09 was published at paragraph 2.6 in the HMRC departmental report published at:
	www.hmrc.gov.uk/about/dept-ann-rep09.pdf
	More complex claims, including those from customers arriving from abroad, often require HMRC to make more detailed inquiries, and so HMRC may be unable to process and pay them within the usual target times. HMRC is continuously working to identify how resources can be most effectively deployed to achieve its revised aims.

Welfare Tax Credits: Appeals

John Battle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many appeals relating to tax credits were lodged by  (a) UK nationals,  (b) non-UK EEA nationals,  (c) A8 EEA nationals,  (d) A2 EEA nationals and  (e) non-European nationals in (i) 2005-06, (ii) 2006-07, (iii) 2007-08 and (iv) 2008-09;
	(2)  how many appeals in child benefit cases were lodged by  (a) UK nationals,  (b) non-UK EEA nationals,  (c) A8 EEA nationals,  (d) A2 EEA nationals and  (e) non-European nationals in (i) 2005-06, (ii) 2006-07, (iii) 2007-08 and (iv) 2008-09.

Stephen Timms: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) does not collect information on appeals by nationality of the appellants.
	For information about the numbers of appeals made against tax credits decisions in 2005-06; 2006-07 and 2007-08 I refer my right hon. Friend to the answers given to my right hon. Friend the Member for Birkenhead (Mr. Field) and the hon. Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr. Hammond) on 11 March 2008,  Official Report, columns 371-72W, and the answer I gave the hon. Member for Cardiff Central (Jenny Willott) on 13 October 2008,  Official Report, column 1004W. HMRC received around 12,100 appeals against tax credits decisions in 2008-09.
	The number of appeals made against child benefit decisions in each year is shown in the following table.
	
		
			   Child Benefit ( T housand) 
			 2005-06 3.3 
			 2006-07(1) 3.7 
			 2007-08 4.2 
			 2008-09 6.0 
			 (1 )Appeals from N Ireland Child Benefit customers included from 13 March 2006.

Welfare Tax Credits: Complaints

John Battle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the  (a) average and  (b) longest time to resolve a tax credits complaint by a member of the public was in (i) 2005-06, (ii) 2006-07, (iii) 2007-08 and (iv) 2008-09.

Stephen Timms: The information on average and longest time is not available.
	The following table sets out the time taken to provide a substantive response to written complaints on tax credits in 2008-09.
	
		
			  Response times to written complaints on tax credits by the Tax Credit Office in 2008-09 
			  Cleared within  Percentage clearance  Cumulative percentage 
			 Less than 1 week 3 3 
			 1 to 2 weeks 14 16 
			 2 to 3 weeks 18 34 
			 3 to 4 weeks 14 48 
			 4 to 5 weeks 11 59 
			 Over 5 weeks 41 100 
		
	
	For information relating to earlier years I refer my right hon. Friend to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Fareham (Mr. Hoban) on 18 February 2008,  Official Report, columns 368-69W.

Welfare Tax Credits: Expenditure

Steve Webb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the cost to the Exchequer of reducing the second income threshold in the tax credit system from £50,000 to £40,000; and if he will estimate the number of people who would have their awards reduced to zero as a result.

Stephen Timms: The estimated annual saving from reducing the second income threshold from £50,000 to £40,000 is around £135 million. As a result of this change an estimated 195,000 families would have their awards reduced to zero, assuming a 6.67 per cent. taper rate for families with income above £40,000.

Wind Farms

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many wind farms are on the Valuation Office Agency  (a) local rating list and  (b) national rating list; and what criteria are used to determine the list on which a hereditament is placed.

Ian Pearson: All 116 onshore wind farms in England and Wales appear on the local rating lists, none are on the central lists.
	All hereditaments that are not exempt and not wholly domestic are required to be shown in a local rating list unless the Secretary of State has designated the occupier as a person whose hereditaments are required to be shown in a central list.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Afghanistan

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his Department's policy is on decompression periods for its staff working in Afghanistan.

Chris Bryant: Current Foreign and Commonwealth Office policy on decompression breaks in Afghanistan is that staff work a six week at Post/two weeks decompression break rotation. Decompression breaks are linked to the overall security situation, which can change over a posting. Staff may be reduced or withdrawn as the security situation improves.

Afghanistan

Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether his Department plans to increase the number of its personnel stationed in Afghanistan in the next 12 months.

Ivan Lewis: There are no plans to increase the number of staff in Afghanistan at present. However, we constantly review our staffing requirements to ensure we have sufficient numbers of staff to meet our objectives in Afghanistan.

Afghanistan

Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans are in place to ensure that Christmas cards and gifts reach officials of his Department in Afghanistan in time for Christmas.

Ivan Lewis: We have an arrangement with the British Forces Post Office for the delivery of mail to civilian personnel serving in Afghanistan on behalf of the Government.

Afghanistan: Politics and Government

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the Prime Minister's Statement of 30 November 2009,  Official Report, columns 831-36W, on Afghanistan and Pakistan, what agreements have been reached with  (a) the government of Afghanistan and  (b) international partners on sources of funding for the programme of economic growth; how much such funding he expects to be available to that programme; and when he expects that programme to be implemented.

Douglas Alexander: I have been asked to reply.
	In June 2008, the Government of Afghanistan published its Afghanistan National Development Strategy (ANDS), covering the period 2008 to 2013. The international community pledged a total of US $21 billion to the ANDS, with Afghan domestic revenues expected to contribute US $6.8 billion.
	The Department for International Development (DFID) committed £510 million to implementation of the ANDS between 2009 and 2013. The alignment of DFID funding with ANDS priorities is enhanced by channelling at least 50 per cent. of resources through Afghan Government systems.

Afghanistan: Reconstruction

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what projects sponsored by his Department in Afghanistan have had their funding reduced in each year since 2001; and in respect of which such projects his Department plans to reduce its level of funding.

Ivan Lewis: While funding to some individual projects has decreased, total Foreign and Commonwealth Office programme expenditure in Afghanistan has increased from £11 million in financial year 2002-03 to £91.55 million in financial year 2009-10.
	Reductions in individual project funding can occur for several reasons, including: reprioritisation between different projects within strategic programmes; activities within projects reaching their natural end; fluctuating currency exchange rates.
	For the financial years 2001-02 to 2006-07 inclusive, the information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Since 2007 the following projects have had funding reduced when compared with the previous financial year:
	 Financial year 2007 to 2008
	Survey Monitoring Target Verification
	United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime
	Counter Narcotics Research and Analysis
	 Financial year 2008 to 2009
	Institutions Support and Mentoring
	Eradication Support
	Survey Monitoring Target Verification
	United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime
	Information Operations
	Counter Narcotics Police of Afghanistan
	Criminal Justice Task Force
	Extend Afghan Media Content
	Helmand Area Based Commander's Stabilisation Fund
	Counter Narcotics Research and Analysis
	Lashkar Gah Prison Build
	 Financial year 2009 to 2010
	Institutions Support and Mentoring
	Eradication Support
	Survey Monitoring Target Verification
	United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime
	Information Operations
	Counter Narcotics Research and Analysis
	Counter Narcotics Interdiction
	Counter Narcotics Police of Afghanistan
	Criminal Justice Task Force
	Political Activity (Elections)
	Extend Afghan Media Content
	Civilianising the Afghan Ministry of Defence
	Monitoring and Evaluation/Portfolio Review
	Support to Afghan National Police
	Support to Informal Justice System
	Lashkar Gah District Stabilisation
	Musa Qala District Stabilisation
	Sangin District Stabilisation
	Garmsir District Stabilisation
	Helmand Area Based Commander's Stabilisation Fund.
	It is not possible to provide information on future reductions in funding because plans for financial year 2010-11 are currently being formulated.

Afghanistan: Reconstruction

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what projects sponsored by his Department in Afghanistan have been wound up or discontinued in each year since 2001; and for which projects sponsored by his Department in Afghanistan a date for winding up or discontinuance has been set.

Ivan Lewis: Project closure occurs for a number of reasons including: completed delivery; evaluation that further expenditure will not deliver sufficient value-for-money for the project to remain viable; merger with another project; transfer of the project to another donor.
	For the financial years 2001-02 to 2005-06 inclusive, the information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	Since 2006 the following projects have been closed or have ceased to be funded by the FCO:
	 Financial year 2006 to 2007
	Ministry of Counter Narcotics Communications Project
	 Financial year 2007 to 2008
	Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs Project Team
	Publicity Project
	Joint training programme for Afghan/Pakistani journalists
	Support for Afghan National Army - patrol vehicles
	Strengthening Peace Programme
	Train the Trainer demining programme
	HALO Trust
	Drug Demand Reduction
	 Financial year 2008 to 2009
	Counter Narcotics Police of Afghanistan Mobile Detection Teams
	Helmand Police Drug Control Use
	Newsletters for Mullahs
	Campaign to support Reconciliation
	Detention Facility Project
	Women Affecting Change Action Aid
	Afghan Women Council
	Afghan Women's Hour.
	It is not possible to provide information on future project closures because plans for 2010-11 are currently being formulated.

Andrew Symeou

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions  (a) he,  (b) other Ministers at his Department,  (c) officials of his Department,  (d) officials at the British Embassy in Greece and  (e) British Consular staff in Greece have had with the Greek authorities on the detention of Andrew Symeou; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Bryant: There have been no ministerial discussions with the Greek authorities over this case.
	On 25 November 2009, our ambassador to Greece met the newly appointed Greek Minister of Justice and registered our interest in several consular cases involving British nationals, including that of Andrew Symeou.
	Our consular staff in Greece have been liaising with the Greek police and prison authorities since Andrew Symeou was extradited and detained in July 2009. Their role is essentially one of welfare and they are not able to become involved in the legal aspects of his case. The Greek authorities are not obliged to provide consular officials with information about the judicial progress of consular cases involving British nationals and in Andrew Symeou's case have not done so.

Andrew Symeou

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what support his Department is providing to Andrew Symeou, detained in Korydallos prison in Athens; what assessment his Department has made of conditions of detention at the prison; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Bryant: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office and our embassy in Athens have been providing appropriate consular assistance to Mr. Symeou and his family since his extradition to Greece in July 2009 on manslaughter charges. The consular role when a British national is detained overseas is essentially one of welfare. We actively monitor the well-being of British nationals who are arrested or detained and try to ensure that their treatment is in line with internationally accepted standards and local practices.
	The British consul in Greece visited Mr. Symeou in Korydallos prison on 18 December 2009. The assessment from the consular staff was that Mr. Symeou's detention is in line with local standards. The consular section of our embassy in Athens provides a guidance pack for British nationals imprisoned in Greece which explains about the Greek prison system and gives information about general prison conditions. Should consular staff have concerns over the treatment of Mr. Symeou then we would consider raising these with the relevant authorities with Mr. Symeou's permission.
	Consular staff will continue to monitor Mr. Symeou's welfare and will provide him with all appropriate assistance while he is in Greece.

Association of South East Asian Nations: Human Rights

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what support the Government are providing to the new ASEAN inter-governmental Commission on Human Rights.

Chris Bryant: The UK welcomed the establishment of the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission for Human Rights (AICHR) when it was formally launched in October 2009. At this stage member countries are in the process of deciding where the institution will be based and have appointed national Commissioners. Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials have already met with the representative of the Philippines. Our accredited Ambassador to ASEAN is following developments. The UK, and the EU as a whole, is currently considering the assistance and technical expertise that it could usefully provide to the AICHR as it develops. The UK will continue to engage with civil society with ASEAN countries on human rights issues, and encourage the establishment of formal links between these groups and the AICHR.

Australia: Foreign Relations

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he next expects to meet his Australian counterpart to discuss  (a) UK-Australian relations and  (b) global issues.

Chris Bryant: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State speaks to Stephen Smith, his Australian counter part on a regular basis on a full range of issues including climate change, Afghanistan, Fiji and the Commonwealth and UK-Australian relations. The last formal bilateral talks were held in the UK in November 2008. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State met Stephen Smith at the time of the UN General Assembly in October 2009 in New York. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State hopes to meet his Australian counterpart at the Afghanistan Conference due to be held in London in January 2010.

British Indian Ocean Territory

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what tsunami-warning systems are in place for the purposes of protecting the British Indian Ocean Territory.

Chris Bryant: There are no tsunami-warning systems in the British Indian Ocean Territory. However, in the event of a tsunami, military personnel on Diego Garcia would receive warnings from the UK and US.

British Indian Ocean Territory: Environment Protection

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for St Ives of 9 December 2009,  Official Report, column 356W, on the British Indian Ocean Territory: environment protection, when he expects the consultation on the establishment of a Marine Protected Area to conclude.

Chris Bryant: 12 February 2010.

British Overseas Territories

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many offenders held in prisons in  (a) in Cayman Islands,  (b) Anguilla and  (c) the British Virgin Islands are serving time for knife-related offences.

Chris Bryant: The prison authorities in the Cayman Islands and the British Virgin Islands have advised that there are currently no offenders serving time for knife-related offences. Anguilla has advised that 20 offenders are serving time for knife-related offences. Of this number, 10 have been convicted and 10 are on remand.

British Overseas Territories

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many offenders held in prisons in  (a) the Cayman Islands,  (b) Anguilla and  (c) the British Virgin Islands are serving time for drug-related offences.

Chris Bryant: The prison authorities in the Cayman Islands, Anguilla and the British Virgin Islands have advised that there are 49, four and 21 prisoners serving time for drug-related offences in each territory respectively. There are a further 20 offenders in the Cayman Islands and two offenders in the British Virgin Islands on remand.

British Overseas Territories

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether any Royal visits to the  (a) British Overseas Territories and  (b) Crown Dependencies are planned to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee in 2012.

Chris Bryant: Planning for the Queen's diamond jubilee celebrations is at an early stage. Royal visits overseas are not announced until a few weeks before a visit takes place.

British Overseas Territories

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change on the development of an over-arching, long-term template for energy generation in the British Overseas Territories.

Chris Bryant: Responsibility for energy issues has been devolved to the overseas territories. I have not discussed the development of an over-arching, long-term template for energy generation in the British overseas territories with the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change. However, where necessary our respective Departments liaise over energy issues relating to the overseas territories.

British Overseas Territories

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information his Department holds on the proportion of those children eligible to attend who are enrolled in the education system in  (a) Bermuda,  (b) Anguilla and  (c) the British Virgin Islands.

Chris Bryant: Responsibility for education in Bermuda, Anguilla and the British Virgin Islands rests with the Government of each territory. The Government do not hold this information.

British Overseas Territories

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he plans to take steps to enable British Overseas Territories to apply for funding for environmental conservation projects through the Global Environment Facility.

Chris Bryant: The Government have asked the independent Global Environment Facility to consider funding for environmental projects in the overseas territories, but this has been refused. We therefore assist the overseas territories in seeking funding for environmental projects from other sources.

British Overseas Territories

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which British Overseas Territories are members of the Global Island Partnership.

Chris Bryant: The following British overseas territories are members of the Global Island Partnership:
	British Virgin Islands
	Cayman Islands
	Gibraltar
	St. Helena
	Tristan da Cunha
	Ascension.

British Overseas Territories

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much high-level radioactive waste is stored in each of the British Overseas Territories.

Chris Bryant: Responsibility for environmental and energy-related matters rests with the governments of the overseas territories who hold the requested information.

British Overseas Territories

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs with reference to the answer of 10 June 2009,  Official Report, column 166W, on British Overseas Territories: young offenders, how many of the 2,578 records of persons aged 16 years and under held on the Overseas Territories Regional Crime Intelligence System refer to  (a) drug and  (b) alcohol-related offences.

Chris Bryant: Of the 2,578 records held on the Overseas Territories Regional Criminal Intelligence System that relate to young offenders aged 16 and under, 144 are drug related and 28 are alcohol related.

British Overseas Territories

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which British Overseas Territories have a National Olympic Committee.

Chris Bryant: Three British overseas territories have a National Olympic Committee which is recognised by the International Olympic Committee: Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands and the Cayman Islands.

Burma: United Nations

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions his Department has had with UN counterparts on securing a replacement for Mr Ibrahim Gambari as the UN Special Envoy to Burma; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: The replacement of Ibrahim Gambari as UN envoy to Burma is a matter for the UN Secretary General. However, Burma remains high on the Government's agenda and my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister regularly speaks with the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki - moon, about the issue. We have underlined our ongoing support for his personal engagement and the role of his good offices mission. We are aware that Mr. Gambari will become head of the UN-African Union peacekeeping force in Darfur and we look forward to working closely with whoever is chosen to replace him in this important role.

Caribbean

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information his Department holds on the proportion of waste products  (a) disposed of in landfills and  (b) recycled in each of the British Caribbean Overseas Territories.

Chris Bryant: Responsibility for waste disposal and re-cycling in the Caribbean overseas territories rests with the government of each territory. The Government do not hold this information.

Caribbean

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information his Department holds on the average energy consumption by household in each British Caribbean Overseas Territory.

Chris Bryant: Responsibility for energy consumption in the Caribbean overseas territories rests with the government of each territory. The Government do not hold this information.

Caribbean: Crime Prevention

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what support his Department has provided to the governments of British Caribbean Overseas Territories to assist with anti-knife and anti-firearms campaigns.

Chris Bryant: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office-funded overseas territories law enforcement adviser based in Miami (a former Metropolitan police officer) provides advice and guidance to governors and overseas territory leaders and police commissioners. Specific assistance is being given to Bermuda where the law enforcement adviser is in contact with the Commissioner of Police and UK and US law enforcement agencies.

Caribbean: Human Trafficking

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had on people-trafficking in the British Caribbean Overseas Territories with representatives of those territories.

Chris Bryant: People trafficking was discussed at a Foreign and Commonwealth Office-funded workshop for Chief Immigration Officers in the Cayman Islands in February 2009, and at the Caribbean Overseas Territories and Bermuda Criminal Justice Conference in the British Virgin Islands in May 2009 attended by customs, immigration, police and prison departments.
	The Overseas Territories Law Enforcement Adviser holds regular discussions with the police and immigration department in the Turks and Caicos Islands and the US Coast Guard about the trafficking of Haitian migrants.

Caribbean: Wind Power

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information his Department holds on the number of wind turbines operating in each of the British Caribbean Overseas Territories.

Chris Bryant: Responsibility for energy and wind turbines in the Caribbean Overseas Territories rests with the Government of each territory.

Climate Change: Antarctic

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the British Antarctic Survey has commissioned research into the causes and effects of climate change and global warming in the last three years.

Chris Bryant: I refer the hon. Member to the replies given on 9 December 2009,  Official Report, column 376W and on 19 October 2009,  Official Report, column 1239W. As indicated previously, the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) has developed a new strategic science plan, Polar Science for Planet Earth. This is described in a new publication (http://www.antarctica.ac.uk/about_bas/publications/pspe_document.pdf) which identifies several critical research challenges concerning climate change and its impacts. In addition BAS is leading a major initiative (Ice2sea), funded by the EU, aimed at improving projections of the contribution of ice to future sea-level rise.

Colombia

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will visit Colombia to discuss reports of murders of trade unionists in that country.

Chris Bryant: I have no plans to visit Colombia for the time being.

Colombia: EU External Trade

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the Government's policy is on proposals for a free trade agreement between Colombia and the EU.

Chris Bryant: The UK supports free trade agreements with developing countries like Colombia because we believe the resulting economic opportunities lead to better social conditions. The UK has led efforts within the EU to ensure that the human rights clause is a key component of the agreement, which enables suspension of the agreement if it is breached. The clause will act as a catalyst for frank dialogue with the Government of Colombia on the issue.

Colombia: EU External Trade

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of representations made by hon. Members and legislators in other EU national parliaments requesting ratification of an EU-Colombia free trade agreement to be withheld until there have been an internationally-ratified improvement in  (a) human rights,  (b) trades union rights and  (c) prosecutions against offences of organised crime, narcotic crime and corruption; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Bryant: I am neither privy to representations made by fellow EU members in their respective national parliaments, nor would it be appropriate for me to comment on them.
	The UK supports free trade agreements with developing countries like Colombia because we believe the resulting economic opportunities lead to better social conditions. The UK has led efforts within the EU to ensure that the human rights clause is a key component of the agreement, which enables suspension of the agreement if it is breached. The clause will act as a catalyst for frank dialogue with the Government of Colombia on the issue.

Crown Dependencies

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many UK Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories have not implemented the provisions of the UN Convention for the Elimination of Discrimination against Women.

Michael Wills: I have been asked to reply.
	Two Crown Dependencies (the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey) have not yet implemented the provisions of the UN convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women but have begun the necessary preparatory work. The convention and its Optional Protocol have however been extended to the Isle of Man.
	The convention has so far been extended to three Overseas Territories (the British Virgin Islands, the Falkland Islands and the Turks and Caicos Islands). At the 2009 Overseas Territories Consultative Council, Overseas Territories leaders agreed to finalise action within the territories to enable extension of the convention to all the populated territories during 2010.
	Information on the ratification of UN conventions is in the public domain at:
	http://treaties.un.org/Pages/Treaties.aspx?id=4subid=Alang=en

Crown Dependencies

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many UK Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories have not implemented the provisions of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Michael Wills: I have been asked to reply.
	Two Crown Dependencies (the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey) have not yet implemented the provisions of the UN convention on the rights of the child but have begun the necessary preparatory work. The convention has been extended to the Isle of Man, though not as yet the Optional Protocols.
	The convention has been extended to all of the Overseas Territories except Gibraltar.
	Information on the ratification of UN conventions is in the public domain at:
	http://treaties.un.org/Pages/Treaties.aspx?id=4subid=Alang=en

Crown Dependencies

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many UK Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories have not implemented the provisions of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Michael Wills: I have been asked to reply.
	None of the Crown Dependencies has yet implemented the provisions of the UN convention on the rights of persons with disabilities, but they have begun the necessary preparatory work. No Overseas Territories have yet implemented the provisions of the convention.
	Information on the ratification of UN conventions is in the public domain at:
	http://treaties.un.org/Pages/Treaties.aspx?id=4subid=Alang=en

Departmental Art Works

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much his Department spent on art works in the last 12 months.

Chris Bryant: Works of art displayed in Foreign and Commonwealth Office buildings in the UK and throughout the network are from the Government Art Collection (GAC), which publishes an annual list of acquisitions. The most recent details of acquisitions made by the GAC were published on 5 October 2009 and are available on the GAC website:
	http://www.gac.culture.gov.uk/information/publications.asp

Departmental Conferences

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much was spent by his Department and its agencies on conferences they organised which were subsequently cancelled in each of the last three years; and what the title was of each such conference.

Chris Bryant: The information on conferences organised by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's network of diplomatic posts overseas and Directorates in the UK is not held centrally and to obtain it would incur disproportionate cost.
	Over the last three years Wilton Park has organised and then cancelled only one conference:
	June 2008-Tackling Overseas Bribery: developing the UK strategy
	The only cancellation cost incurred was £990.26 for flights.

Departmental Information and Communications Technology

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on what pay band his Department's Chief Information Officer (CIO) is employed; whether the CIO is employed on a fixed-term or permanent contract; and what the size is of the budget for which the CIO is responsible in the period 2009-10.

Chris Bryant: I refer the hon. Member to pages 94 and 96 of Volume Two of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's (FCO) Departmental Report and Resource Accounts for Financial Year 2008-09 (HC 460-11), a copy of which is in the Library of the House. The FCO's Chief Information Officer (CIO) is employed on a fixed term contract.
	The CIO's total budget for financial year 2009-10 is £114 million for administration costs and £46 million capital expenditure.

Departmental Manpower

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs with reference to the FCO-DfID Shared Services Plan of November 2006, whether the deadline to harmonise the pay and conditions of support staff in co-located offices by March 2009 has been met; and what arrangements exist for harmonisation of the pay and conditions of non-support staff in co-located offices.

David Miliband: Following a period of consultation and production of guidance, this exercise is now well under way. The process involves review and alignment of terms and conditions of service for locally engaged staff through joint pay reviews. Five posts have already completed the exercise and 12 more have started the process. The remainder of the posts concerned will undertake the exercise during 2010.

Departmental Personnel

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs in what capacity  (a) Nicholas Banner and  (b) Gavin Mackay are employed by his Department.

Chris Bryant: Nicholas Banner is on unpaid leave from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). Gavin Mackay has now retired from the FCO.

Departmental Training

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the  (a) date,  (b) location and  (c) cost was of each of the last four Departmental away days that he attended.

Chris Bryant: The Foreign Secretary attends the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Board away day twice a year. The details of the last four meetings are as follows:
	17 September 2009 at 1 Carlton Gardens, total cost: £591;
	5 January 2009 at Chevening Estate, total cost: £1,797;
	30 October 2008 at 1 Carlton Gardens, total cost: £540;
	30-31 March 2008 at Chevening Estate, total cost: £5,024.
	No venue costs were incurred for the 30 October 2008 and 17 September 2009 meetings.

Departmental Training

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many  (a) away days and  (b) conferences that took place outside his Department's building attended by civil servants in his Department there have been since 2005; and what the cost was of each.

Chris Bryant: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) holds away days in the UK and overseas to support delivery of its departmental strategic objectives. Civil servants in the FCO regularly attend conferences, organised by the FCO or by other organisations. Many of these take place outside FCO buildings.
	The FCO does not hold centrally data about away days or conferences. It would not therefore be possible to supply data about the number or costs of these attended by civil servants since 2005 without incurring a disproportionate cost.

Diplomatic Service: South America

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many consular staff his Department employs in each of its embassies in South America.

Chris Bryant: The number of full time equivalent (FTE) staff carrying out consular activities in South America is 27.5.
	The following table provides the details by post within South America.
	
		
			  Post name  Consular FTE 
			 Bogota 2.8 
			 Brasilia 0.6 
			 Buenos Aires 3.6 
			 Caracas 4.0 
			 Lima 3.2 
			 Montevideo 0.7 
			 Quito 2.4 
			 Rio de Janeiro 4.2 
			 Santiago 3.3 
			 Sao Paulo 2.9

East Asia: EU Action

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his policy is on the appointment of an EU special representative for human rights and security in East Asia, with particular reference to China and North Korea.

Ivan Lewis: Responsibility for human rights and security in East Asia will be part of the remit of the new EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and the European External Action Service which she will manage. The UK will argue for the High Representative to place a high priority on these issues.

Eritrea

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs with reference to the answer of 21 October 2009,  Official Report, column 497W, on Eritrea, what the outcome was of the meeting of European Union heads of Mission and the Eritrean Government; what progress has been made in the dialogue on human rights issues; what reports he has received of the number of political prisoners in Eritrea; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: EU Heads of Mission in Asmara met with members of the Eritrean Government on 19 November 2009 as part of an ongoing dialogue under Article 8 of the Cotonou Agreement-a forum promoting political dialogue and cooperation between the EU and African, Caribbean and Pacific states. The Eritrean Government said that the basic rights of the G11-eleven members of the then Eritrean Government that remain in prison since their arrest in 2001-were respected. There was discussion around aspects of human rights including the rights of children, women and the disabled, and in the education and health sectors. We continue to have very serious concerns, however, over many human rights issues in Eritrea, including the lack of political, media and religious freedom.
	It is very difficult to know how many political prisoners are held in Eritrea. Access to prisons is extremely restricted and records of detainees are not made available. Estimates from human rights organisations vary considerably, ranging up to thirty thousand. We are unable to verify this, however.

Eritrea: Ethiopia

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his  (a) European Union and  (b) African Union counterparts on the implementation of the International Court of Justice ruling on the border between Eritrea and Ethiopia; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: The Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission, for which the Permanent Court of Arbitration served as registry, delivered its decision on the boundary dispute in April 2002. The dispute remains unresolved and impacts on the wider Horn of Africa security situation.
	The Government discuss the issue of the border dispute in their bilateral meetings with the Governments of Ethiopia and Eritrea. The wider regional security situation has been discussed at ministerial level by my hon. Friend the Minister for Europe, Chris Bryant, at the EU General Affairs and External Relations Council in November 2009 and by my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary with the Somali President Sheikh Sharif in September. Ambassador-level discussion took place at the African Union in October 2009.

European External Action Service

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether EU defence attachés or military representatives are planned to form part of the EU's External Action Service; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Bryant: The detailed organisation and functioning of the European External Action Service (EEAS) will be decided by EU member states by unanimity on the basis of a draft Decision from the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy with the consent of the European Commission and after consulting the European Parliament. But member states (endorsed by their comments to the October 2009 European Council) believe that the current European Security and Defence Policy and crisis management structures should be part of the EEAS. This includes the Military Staff while taking full account of the specificities of these structures and preserving their particular functions, procedures and staffing conditions. The European Council agreed that this Decision to establish the EEAS should be adopted by the end of April 2010.

Falkland Islands: Land Mines

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps have been taken to mitigate potential adverse environmental effects arising from mine-clearing operations on the Falkland Islands.

Chris Bryant: The Government's contracted mine clearance programme for the Falkland Islands has the objective of safely clearing four land mine sites with minimal environmental impact. Pre-clearance activities undertaken by BACTEC International Ltd., the primary de-mining contractor, include submission to the Falkland Islands Environmental Planning department of an environmental restoration plan for each site to the conditions existing before contamination. This has been completed and clearance work is under way.

Falkland Islands: Land Mines

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress the government of the Falkland Islands has made in meeting its obligations under the Ottawa Treaty on mine clearance.

Chris Bryant: The Government are responsible as a state party to the Ottawa convention for removing anti-personnel mines from the Falkland Islands, as a British Overseas Territory.
	The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is currently funding a four-site clearance programme, which started on 4 December 2009 and is expected to be completed by the middle of 2010. The sites form a representative sample of the islands' varied terrain and contain a significant quantity of mines. The results of this programme will inform future work.
	The Falkland Islands Government have been and will continue to be consulted on all issues related to de-mining.

Falkland Islands: Oil

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his Department's most recent estimate is of the volume of oil deposits off the Falkland Islands.

Chris Bryant: Companies have not yet found hydrocarbons in commercially viable quantities in Falkland Islands waters. Exploratory drilling is expected to recommence in early 2010 and we will wait for the results of that exploration.

Falkland Islands: Oil

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what measures are being taken to mitigate potential adverse environmental effects arising from drilling for oil off the Falkland Islands.

Chris Bryant: Companies drilling in Falkland Islands waters must take the same measures they would if they were drilling in UK waters. All companies have to complete environmental impact assessments which must be approved by the Falkland Islands Government in consultation with the Department of Energy and Climate Change. The Government also fund external reviews of assessments by UK institutions such as the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment and the Scottish Association of Marine Science.

Falkland Islands: Tourism

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate he has made of the number of tourists who have arrived in the Falkland Islands in each year since 2005; and how many such tourists arrived by cruise ship in each such year.

Chris Bryant: Responsibility for tourism in the Falkland Islands rests with the Falkland Islands Government who hold the requested information.

Fiji: Diplomatic Relations

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the state of relations between Fiji and the UK; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Bryant: I refer my hon. Friend to my previous answer on 27 November 2009,  Official Report, column 423W. The UK does not regard the current regime as a legitimate, democratically elected government and we continue to raise our concerns over the human rights situation in Fiji. My most recent statement on Fiji was made after the expulsion of the Australian and New Zealand envoys in which I expressed deep disappointment at the regime's actions but noted that diplomatic channels must be kept open. We continue to engage with the regime at official level to get across our key messages with the aim of encouraging Fiji towards a return to democratic principles, the rule of law and respect for fundamental human rights.

Gibraltar: Territorial Waters

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations the Government have made to the European Court of Justice in respect of the application by the Government of Gibraltar to reverse the designation by Spain of Gibraltarian territorial waters as a site of Community importance for the Mediterranean biogeographical region for which Spain is responsible.

Chris Bryant: The UK has sought and received permission from the European General Court to intervene in support of the government of Gibraltar's application seeking annulment of Commission Decision 2009/95/EC updating a list of sites of Community importance for the Mediterranean biogeographical region insofar as it relates to the Estrecho Oriental site.
	We have made representations to both the European Commission and Spain in order to object to their actions in this matter and have placed on record that the UK does not recognise the validity of the Spanish listing. We object that Spain should have sought to have an area of British Gibraltar Territorial Waters (BGTW) listed and that this listing should have been approved. The UK is the only State competent to propose a site of Community importance within BGTW.

Gibraltar: Territorial Waters

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the government of Gibraltar on the dispute over British Gibraltar territorial waters.

Chris Bryant: We are in regular contact with the Government of Gibraltar on this matter and related issues. We fully support the Government of Gibraltar on the dispute over the Spanish listing of Estrecho Oriental as a Site of Community Importance (SCI) under the Habitats Directive.
	The United Kingdom has sought and received permission from the European General Court to intervene in support of the Government of Gibraltar's application for annulment of Commission Decision 2009/95/EC updating a list of SCIs for the Mediterranean biogeographical region insofar as it relates to the Estrecho Oriental site.
	Meanwhile officials from the UK, Spain and Gibraltar are committed to working together through the trilateral forum to improve environmental co-operation.

Gibraltar: Territorial Waters

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the effects of the Spanish government's recent assertion of claims to waters off the coast of Gibraltar under the designation of EU environmental protection on  (a) fishing rights,  (b) aerospace considerations and  (c) development rights.

Chris Bryant: The UK does not recognise the validity of the listing of a Site of Community Importance (SCI) in British Gibraltar Territorial Waters (BGTW) by Spain since the UK is the only member state competent to propose a site covering BGTW. We are fully confident of the United Kingdom's sovereignty of BGTW.

Government Hospitality: Wines

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 15 December 2009 to the hon. Member for Monmouth,  Official Report, column 1033W, on Government Departments: wine, how many bottles of wine from each  (a) region of origin and  (b) vintage are held in the Government hospitality wine cellar.

Chris Bryant: It is not possible to give a detailed breakdown of the numbers of bottles per vintage of each country and region without incurring disproportionate costs. I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by the then Under-Secretary of State Foreign and Commonwealth Office, my hon. Friend the Member for Lincoln (Gillian Merron) to the hon. Member for Welwyn Hatfield (Grant Shapps) on 20 April 2009,  Official Report, column 512W.

Horn of Africa: EU Action

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 28 October 2009,  Official Report, column 498W, on the Horn of Africa: EU, what progress has been made on the appointment of a European Union special representative to the Horn of Africa.

Ivan Lewis: Further discussion on the appointment of an EU special representative (EUSR) to the Horn of Africa recently took place at EU working group level in the context of the conclusions on the Horn of Africa agreed at the General Affairs and External Relations Council (GAERC) of December 2009. It was agreed that should a decision be taken to appoint an EUSR for the Horn of Africa, the terms of reference should reflect the EU policy adopted at the December 2009 GAERC and facilitate its implementation.

Iran: Politics and Government

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has made recent representations to the Iranian Government on Baha'is in Iran.

Ivan Lewis: Alongside our EU partners we have expressed concerns about the treatment of the Baha'i community in Iran to the Iranian Government on several occasions. The EU Presidency summoned the Iranian Ambassador on 10 July 2009, and expressed deep concern about the overall situation of the Baha'is in Iran, especially the charges 'espionage and corruption on earth' against the seven Baha'i leaders imprisoned for over a year without trial. Most recently, on 18 December 2009, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution on human rights in Iran for the seventh consecutive year. The resolution condemns 'attacks on Baha'is and their faith in State-sponsored media, increasing evidence of efforts by the State to identify, monitor and arbitrarily detain Baha'is, preventing members of the Baha'i faith from attending university and from sustaining themselves economically'. We will continue to urge Iran to respect the right to freedom of religion and belief as described in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Iran is a State Party.

Iraq: Casualties

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many Iraqi locally employed civilians have been killed as a result of their association with the Government since 9 October 2009.

Ivan Lewis: We are not aware of any such killings since 9 October 2009.

Israel: Borders

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when HM Ambassador to Israel most recently visited the Karni crossing.

Ivan Lewis: Officials from our embassy in Tel Aviv regularly visit the Karni crossing. Karni is the largest crossing point between Israel and Gaza and is covered by the 2005 agreement on movement and access between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. It is the only crossing configured to cope with large-scale flows of humanitarian relief and the commercial imports and exports on which the restoration of the Gazan economy will depend.

Kirsty MacColl

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with  (a) his Mexican counterpart and  (b) the Mexican Ambassador to the UK in the case of Kirsty MacColl; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Bryant: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has not had any discussions this year, on the case of Kirsty MacColl, with either the Mexican Foreign Minister or the Mexican ambassador to the UK. However, our embassy in Mexico City will continue to monitor any developments in the case.

Kosovo: Politics and Government

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the Government's policy is on the United Nations General Assembly Resolution on an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice on Kosovo's declaration of independence; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Bryant: The UK abstained on the UN General Assembly resolution seeking an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the legality of Kosovo's declaration of independence. We strongly support the Court, but believe that Serbia's primary motivation for the question was political and that the resolution was pushed through with insufficient debate on its substance.
	The UK has participated actively in the Court's proceedings, making two written submissions and an oral statement.
	The UK explained to the Court that the declaration of independence was not incompatible with either general international law or UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1244. UNSCR 1244 set a framework for status negotiations; it did not predestine any particular outcome. The negotiating process was pursued with commitment by many, including the international community. However, these exhaustive attempts to achieve an agreed resolution ultimately failed. This led the UN Special Envoy for the Future Status Process for Kosovo to conclude that independence was the only viable solution.
	A number of very particular factual circumstances, including the violent break-up of Yugoslavia, serious human rights abuses against Kosovo Albanians by Serbia, and the sustained involvement of the international community in the attempt to achieve a resolution make Kosovo a sui generis case which creates no wider precedent for developments elsewhere.
	To date, 64 countries have recognised Kosovo and it is now a member of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. The clock cannot be turned back on Kosovo's independence-it is a reality.
	The text of the UK submissions to the Court is available on the ICJ website:
	http://www.icj-cij.org

Members: Correspondence

Patrick McLoughlin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he expects to reply to the letter from the right hon. Member for West Derbyshire of 10 September 2009 concerning the visa section in Benghazi, Libya ref: PM/OP/Shafie.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 14 December 2009
	I have been asked to reply.
	A reply from the Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department, my hon. Friend the Member for Hackney, South and Shoreditch (Meg Hillier) was sent on 10 December 2009.

Middle East: Armed Conflict

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what advice he has received on whether the blockade of Gaza constitutes collective punishment within the meaning of the Fourth Geneva Convention.

Ivan Lewis: Although there is no permanent physical Israeli presence in Gaza, given the significant control that Israel has over Gaza's borders, airspace and territorial waters, Israel retains obligations under the Fourth Geneva Convention as an occupying power. We are very concerned at both continued Israeli restrictions and the ongoing threat to civilians in southern Israel from indiscriminate rocket attacks. We will continue to press the Israeli Government to ease their restrictions on the crossings into Gaza.

Middle East: Armed Conflict

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has reviewed the compatibility of the blockade of Gaza with the obligations of Israel in respect of trade and human rights under  (a) the EU-Israel Association Agreement,  (b) the EU-Palestinian Authority Interim Association Agreement and  (c) its membership of the World Trade Organisation.

Ivan Lewis: Securing better access to Gaza remains a high priority for the Government.
	The relationship between the European Communities, EU member states and Israel set out in the EU-Israel Association Agreement depends on respect for human rights and democratic principles as set out in Article 2. Article 3 of the Agreement establishes a regular dialogue between the EU and Israel which takes place through the annual EU-Israel Association Council, and the preparatory Association Committees and sub-committees. The Government and the EU continue to urge the Israeli Government to open the crossings into Gaza more fully.
	The Interim Association Agreement on Trade and Cooperation between the European Community and the Palestine Liberation Organisation (for the benefit of the Palestinian Authority) does not impose obligations on Israel.
	The obligations placed upon Israel by its membership of the World Trade Organisation are not relevant to resolving concerns over the Gaza blockade.

Middle East: Armed Conflict

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his policy is on the introduction of the Israeli buffer zone in Gaza.

Ivan Lewis: According to UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, the Israeli buffer zone inside Gaza makes up approximately 30 per cent. of all arable land. While Israel has the right to defend itself, we are concerned at the impact of the buffer zone on Palestinian farmers and the population of Gaza.

Middle East: Armed Conflict

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he has taken to intensify efforts to provide  (a) arrangements and  (b) guarantees to ensure the sustained reopening of crossing points on the basis of the 2005 Agreement on Movement as required under action 6 of UN Security Council Resolution 1860; and what arrangements and guarantees have been put in place in the last 12 months.

Ivan Lewis: We continue to urge the Israeli Government to open the crossings into Gaza not only for humanitarian supplies, but also for reconstruction materials, commercial trade and people-as called for by UN Security Council Resolution 1860. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister made this clear to the Prime Minister of Israel on 14 October 2009.
	My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development has also recently written to the Israeli Government about this matter, and my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary raised this with the Israeli Foreign Minister on 25 November 2009. Securing better access to Gaza will remain a high priority for the Government.
	UN Security Council Resolution 1860 was also clear on the need to prevent illicit trafficking in arms and ammunition. We also call on Hamas to cease all rocket attacks and immediately release Gilad Shalit.

Middle East: Armed Conflict

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 30 November 2009,  Official Report, column 429W, on the Middle East: armed conflict, what the nature is of  (a) the toxic materials that have been identified and  (b) the contamination detected; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Foster: I have been asked to reply.
	The contamination found in rubble in Gaza since the end of the conflict comprises items of unexploded ordnance (UXO) and parts or pieces thereof (explosive remnants of war-ERW), as well as small arms ammunition. According to the UN Mines Action Team, 28 per cent. of the UXO/ERW found to early June contained white phosphorus, and 72 per cent. contained high explosives.
	With the Department for International Development's (DFID's) support, the UN Mines Action Team is working to remove UXO and other items from destroyed buildings and agricultural land.

Middle East: Armed Conflict

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 26 November 2009,  Official Report, column 305W, on the Middle East: armed conflict, what the legal restraints are that apply to implementation of the Prime Minister's proposal of naval assistance to interdict arms smuggling to Gaza.

David Miliband: Maritime interdiction operations concerning Gaza must be carried out in accordance with the applicable rules of international law, including the provisions of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Interdiction operations must be authorised either by the flag state, as well as the coastal state if in territorial waters, or under a resolution of the UN Security Council, or justified for reasons of self-defence. Action to take forward my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister's initiative therefore needs to be carefully considered in light of the facts and circumstances of the particular case.

Middle East: Armed Conflict

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations his Department has made at the United Nations General Assembly to ensure that a full investigation is undertaken into the findings of the Goldstone Report on the UN Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict.

Ivan Lewis: The UK along with our EU partners played our full part in the 4-5 November 2009 UN General Assembly debate on the Goldstone report. We worked hard before the vote to reach a consensus on a resolution we could support. In the end we had to abstain, with France and 42 others, because voting for would have meant endorsing the report and ignoring its flaws. However, we maintain that the issues raised by the report are serious and the parties should address them. We were fully supportive of the core of the resolution: the need for credible, independent investigations.

Middle East: Peacekeeping Operations

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proportion of the 32 million euro in European Union funding for the reconstruction in Gaza announced by the Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy in March 2009 has been disbursed; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Foster: I have been asked to reply.
	The €32 million pledge for Gaza made by the Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy in March 2009 was for humanitarian aid and early recovery activities. Since then, the European Union (EU) has more than exceeded disbursement of its pledge through a range of activities including cash for work and removal of rubble and unexploded ordnance.
	Like the Department for International Development (DFID), the EU has been unable to spend money on formal reconstruction activities in Gaza due to Israeli restrictions on the import of essential materials.

Middle East: Peacekeeping Operations

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what initiatives he has proposed to his overseas counterparts to overcome restrictions on the entry of materials for reconstruction into Gaza; and what his policy is on overcoming such restrictions.

David Miliband: Along with our key international allies, the UK continues to press the Israeli authorities to ease border restrictions into Gaza. It is imperative the Israeli authorities permit the passage of essential humanitarian aid and reconstruction material. I have raised my concerns during conversations with my counterpart and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development has similarly raised them. These concerns were also highlighted at the EU Foreign Ministers' meeting on 8 December 2009.
	The UK is a strong supporter of the UN's Framework for Humanitarian Assistance to Gaza, a statement of key humanitarian principles on access and non-interference with humanitarian aid. The UN will shortly produce its second report against the Framework, tracking compliance of the parties to the conflict with the principles in the Framework. We have raised the Framework in discussions with the Government of Israel.

Mott MacDonald

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs with reference to the answer of 14 July 2009,  Official Report, columns 320-324W, on departmental contracts, what the purpose was of the contract with Mott MacDonald listed as Basra: Hollyoaks-Additional Protection; when funds under that contract were disbursed; what assessment was made of the benefits to his Department of that expenditure; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Bryant: The purpose of the contract with Mott MacDonald was to design and build additional physical security measures at Basra Air Station. The additional measures were required because in early 2008 the base was experiencing a significant amount of indirect fire from insurgents in the form of mortars and rockets.
	Mott MacDonald had a design office at the air base together with access to contractors to carry out the building work. The contract value was £142,082.50 and payment was made in May 2008 following completion of the works on 30 April 2008.
	After the work was completed the additional measures afforded staff a greater level of protection on numerous occasions when the base was subjected to mortar and rocket attack.

North Korea: Asylum

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if the Government will urge the Government of the People's Republic of China to create a corridor of access to allow the United Nations to assist North Korean refugees in China.

Ivan Lewis: We raise the issue of North Korean refugees with Chinese officials at every appropriate opportunity. Most recently I raised it when I visited China in September 2009. We are concerned about the fate of these migrants if they are returned to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. We continue to press China to grant the UN High Commissioner for Refugees access to the border region.

North Korea: Asylum

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will urge the government of the People's Republic of China to take steps to prevent North Korean agents abducting North Korean refugees from China.

Ivan Lewis: We occasionally hear reports from non-governmental organisations that North Korean agents have abducted North Korean refugees and those working with them in China. We do not have reports of any recent cases. We raise our concerns about the welfare of North Korean refugees with the Chinese Government at every appropriate opportunity. Most recently I raised it during my visit to China in September 2009 and urged China to grant the UN High Commission for Refugees access to the border region.

North Korea: Human Rights

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will take steps at the United Nations to seek the establishment of a commission of inquiry into alleged crimes against humanity in North Korea.

Ivan Lewis: The UK is very concerned about the human rights situation in North Korea. For action at UN level, our priority is for North Korea engagement in the Universal Periodical Review process underway and for them to acknowledge the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur, and allow him access to the country. We actively supported the renewal of his mandate at the last Human Rights Council in April 2009.
	We believe that the Universal Periodic Review and the Special Rapporteur mechanism remain the most effective way to seek to engage North Korea on their human rights records, rather than a commission of inquiry.

North Korea: Human Rights

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to ensure that concerns over human rights violations in North Korea are reflected in the next EU Common Position on North Korea.

Ivan Lewis: We are not aware of any plans for the EU to adopt a new Common Position on North Korea. However, tackling North Korea's serious human rights abuses remain a top priority, as reflected in the EU East Asia Policy Guidelines which were agreed in 2005. The EU co-sponsors the human rights resolutions on North Korea at the UN Human Rights Council and the UN General Assembly. The EU also looks for every appropriate opportunity to engage North Korea practically on human rights.
	Most recently the EU Troika raised their concerns during their visit to Pyongyang in October. The EU continues to work for reinstatement of the Human Rights Dialogue with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, suspended by the North Korean side in 2003.

North Korea: Human Rights

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to ensure that concerns over human rights violations in North Korea are raised in to bilateral  (a) negotiations and  (b) discussions with representatives of that country.

Ivan Lewis: We remain concerned about the human rights situation in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and take every appropriate opportunity to raise human rights issues with DPRK representatives.
	Most recently, we raised human rights with the North Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs during a visit to Pyongyang by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's Asia Pacific Director in November 2009. We urged North Korea to restart its human rights dialogue with the EU and allow access for the UN Special Rapporteur on North Korea. Our embassy in Pyongyang also tries to engage practically where it can and this year provided assistance to a nursery, a hospital and an association for the disabled.

North Korea: Human Rights

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to draw attention to the human rights situation in North Korea in the United Nations.

Ivan Lewis: The UK supported the resolution on Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) at the UN Human Rights Council in April 2009. As part of the EU, it co-sponsored the UNGA resolution in December to raise awareness of the human rights situation in DPRK and promote action. The UK played an active role in the UN's Universal Periodic Review of DPRK in December which offers an opportunity to increase practical engagement on human rights. As part of that review, the UK requested further information on a range of issues, including freedom of expression, religious freedoms and the death penalty. We have also urged the DPRK to allow the UN Special Rapporteur for the DPRK to visit the country and suggest technical assistance where needed.

Nosratollah Tajik

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions there have been between the US authorities and the  (a) UK Mission in the United States and  (b) Foreign and Commonwealth Office on their request for the extradition of Nosratollah Tajik; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: Officials have discussed the extradition of Mr. Nosratollah Tajik with US officials in London and Washington on a number of occasions.

Nosratollah Tajik

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions there have been between the government of Iran and the  (a) UK Mission in Tehran and  (b) Foreign and Commonwealth Office on the request made to the UK by the United States for the extradition of Nosratollah Tajik; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: Officials and Ministers have discussed the extradition of Nosratollah Tajik with Iranian officials and Ministers on many occasions since Mr. Tajik's arrest in 2006. Most recently the Iranian Foreign Minister raised this issue with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs during a telephone conversation on 1 November 2009. We have explained to the Iranian authorities that extradition is a judicial process over which the Foreign Secretary has no control.

Official Gifts: Pakistan

Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what official gifts he and his predecessors have received from the President of Pakistan and Ministers in the Pakistani government in each year since 2001.

Ivan Lewis: The Government has published annual lists of gifts given and received by Ministers in an official capacity valued at over £140 since 2001. Copies of the lists are available in the Libraries of the House. The 2008-2009 list was published on 16 July 2009.

Olympic Games 2012

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 15 December 2009,  Official Report, column 1036W, on the Olympic Games 2012, how many staff in his Department have responsibility for co-ordinating his Department's preparations for the games; and what the cost of their annual salaries was in 2008-09.

Chris Bryant: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office created a new full-time position on 1 September 2008 to co-ordinate its work on London 2012. Two more staff joined the team in June 2009. The salary bill in financial year 2008-09 was £32,503.

Overseas Territories Consultative Council

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 15 December 2009,  Official Report, column 1036W, on the Overseas Territories Consultative Council, what the cost to the public purse was of hosting the meeting on 9 December 2009.

Chris Bryant: The Overseas Territories Consultative Council and Forum took place on 8 and 9 December 2009. The final costs are not yet available, but we estimate them to be under £35,000.

Palestinians: Territorial Waters

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what advice he has received on the legal status of territorial waters off Gaza; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: The Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement 1995 provides that the territorial jurisdiction of the Palestinian Council (construed in the Agreement as meaning the Palestinian Authority) includes the territorial waters off Gaza, in accordance with the provisions of the Agreement.
	The rules of customary international law regarding territorial waters are also applicable.

Pitcairn Islands: Literacy

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information his Department holds on literacy rate among residents of the Pitcairn Islands.

Chris Bryant: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not hold any statistical information on the literacy rate of the Pitcairn population.

Security

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many UK private military and security companies have been awarded contracts by his Department to carry out work in  (a) Afghanistan,  (b) Iraq,  (c) Sudan,  (d) Israel,  (e) Somalia,  (f) Pakistan,  (g) Colombia,  (h) Ethiopia and (i) Eritrea in (i) 2005, (ii) 2006, (iii) 2007, (iv) 2008, (v) 2009 and (vi) future years; and what the monetary value is of each contract.

Chris Bryant: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) currently has contracts with five UK based private security companies in Afghanistan and Iraq. Records of contracts held with UK based private security companies in Sudan, Israel, Somalia, Pakistan, Colombia, Ethiopia and Eritrea are held locally by our embassy or high commission in each respective country. These records could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	The contract value for each individual contract in each year for both Afghanistan and Iraq could also be obtained only at disproportionate cost. However, the value of each contract for the period detailed are as follows:
	
		
			£ 
			  Afghanistan   
			 January to December 2009 Mobile and static security 20,174,588 
			 April 2008 to March 2009 Police mentors and advisers 317,530 
			 January to December 2009 Primary healthcare 379,543 
			 November 2008 to November 2009 Intelligence analysts 387,935 
			
			  Iraq   
			 July 2008 to June 2009 Mobile security 26,164,981 
			 July 2008 to June 2009 Static security 6,969,654 
			 October 2008 to September 2009 Intelligence analysts 467,930 
			
			  Afghanistan and Iraq( 1)   
			 February 2009 to February 2010 Vehicle maintenance 706,245 
			 April 2008 to March 2009 Overseas security managers 1,035,192 
			 (1) Iraq and Afghanistan combined 
		
	
	In respect of the existing static and mobile security service contracts in Iraq, the FCO has recently retendered these contracts and now has a single new three year contract commencing late 2009/early 2010, which is valued at £61 million over the next three years.
	In respect of static and mobile security services in Afghanistan, the retender of this contract is due for completion in the next month or so at which point the new details will be available.

Security

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many  (a) complaints and  (b) reports of human rights abuses have been received by his Department in relation to the activities of private military and security companies awarded contracts by his Department in each of the last five years.

Chris Bryant: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) have received no complaints and no reports about human rights abuses by private military and security companies in the execution of contracts awarded by the FCO in the last five years.

Sri Lanka

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs with reference to the answer of 26 June 2009,  Official Report, columns 1154-5W, on Sri Lanka, when the next visit to Sri Lanka by a cross-party delegation of hon. Members sponsored by his Department will take place; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: There are no plans at the present time for a visit by a cross-party delegation of MPs to Sri Lanka. The Government continues to maintain high level engagement with the Government of Sri Lanka through regular visits, meetings and telephone calls. Most recently the Under-Secretary of State for International Development, my hon. Friend the Member for Worcester (Mr. Foster) visited Sri Lanka in October 2009. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary met Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Bogollagama in the margins of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Trinidad in November 2009 to discuss the current humanitarian situation and progress on a political solution to the conflict in Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka: Politics and Government

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment has been made of the Sri Lankan Government's progress towards political reconciliation in the country since the end of the military conflict with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in May 2009; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: At the end of May the Sri Lankan President issued a joint statement with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon recognising the need to work towards a lasting political solution. The UK has consistently maintained that one of the prerequisites for lasting peace in Sri Lanka is a political settlement that fully takes into account the legitimate grievances and aspirations of all communities. Presidential elections have now been announced for 26 January 2010.
	Parliamentary elections in spring 2010 will be a further opportunity for the voice of Sri Lanka's communities to be heard. Free, fair and credible elections will allow Sri Lanka's communities to have their say in shaping the country's future. Adequate arrangements must be made to ensure that internally displaced persons can vote in upcoming elections.
	It is important for all those who want to play a role in Sri Lanka's future to agree to an inclusive political solution that addresses the underlying causes of the conflict. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary released a written ministerial statement on 15 December 2009, which gives a detailed assessment of the political situation in Sri Lanka. A link to the statement can be found at the following internet address:
	http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200910/cmhansrd/cm091215/wmstext/91215m0003.htm#09121534000482

Sri Lanka: War Crimes

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment has been made of the Sri Lankan Government's progress towards establishing an accountability mechanism for allegations of war crimes which took place during the military conflict in the north of the country; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: The EU has made clear its belief that accountability is integral to the process of reconciliation. We therefore welcome President Rajapakse's decision to appoint an independent committee to look into the incidents cited in the US State Department's report. We will continue to press the Government of Sri Lanka to live up to this and the earlier commitment made by President Rajapakse to UN Secretary General Ban Ki- moon in May to take measures to address possible violations of international humanitarian law. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary released a written ministerial statement on 15 December 2009, which gives a detailed assessment of the political situation in Sri Lanka. A link to the statement can be found at the following internet address:
	http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200910/cmhansrd/cm091215/wmstext/91215m0003.htm#09121534000482

Travel Information

Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much his Department has spent on the  (a) Another side to paradise campaign,  (b) Don't be a Dick campaign,  (c) Don't miss out campaign and  (d) each other campaign co-ordinated by his Department aimed at Britons travelling abroad in each year since 2001.

Chris Bryant: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave on 26 October 2009,  Official Report, column 68W
	In addition to the information included in my previous answer, the cost of the Don't be a Dick campaign was approximately £38,000 in 2008-09 and approximately £11,800 in 2009-10.

UK China Task Force

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many times the UK China Taskforce has met since August 2007; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: I have been asked to reply.
	The China Task Force works to deepen relations, foster mutual understanding, and further co-operation between the UK and China. The taskforce has met five times since August 2007 when the Chancellor took over the chair.

War Crimes: Judiciary

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his policy is on extending the mandate of the international judges and prosecutors serving in the War Crimes Chamber of the State Court in Bosnia-Herzegovina; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: The Government believe that international judges and prosecutors serving in the War Crimes Chamber of the State Court in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) make an important contribution to the justice system in BiH, and to the ability of the country to meet its international obligations in respect of cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.
	Despite repeated requests to do so from the High Representative and Steering Board of the Peace Implementation Council, the BiH authorities have failed to extend the mandate of these judges and prosecutors.
	The Government therefore strongly support High Representative Inzko's 14 December 2009 decision to extend the mandate of international judges and prosecutors working in the war crimes department of the court of BiH.

Western Sahara: Human Rights

Glenda Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the government of Morocco on the human rights situation in Western Sahara.

Ivan Lewis: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary spoke to the Moroccan Foreign Minister, Mr. Taieb Fassi Fihri, on 11 December 2009 to discuss our concerns over the recent rise in tensions over Western Sahara and in particular the case of Aminatou Haidar. Officials from our embassy in Rabat, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London and the UK's Mission to the UN have held similar discussions with their Moroccan counterparts.
	During these discussions we have made it clear that we believe that Haidar's case should be resolved swiftly and fairly. We have also expressed our concern that recent events risk impeding the UN-led negotiation process on Western Sahara.
	We continue to discuss a wide range of human rights and reform issues with Morocco both bilaterally and through the EU.

Western Sahara: Human Rights

Glenda Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will raise the human rights situation within Western Sahara at the next meeting of the UN Security Council.

Ivan Lewis: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has no plans at this time to raise the issue of Western Sahara at the next meeting of the Security Council. In the negotiations on UN Security Council Resolution 1871, on the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara mandate, the UK inserted language calling on all parties to address the human dimension of the dispute.
	The UN Secretary-General has issued a statement expressing his concern over recent developments and that both he and the UN are doing as much as possible to resolve matters. He has called upon the parties to work with Christopher Ross, UN Secretary-General's Personal Envoy, to resolve the situation.
	The UK continues to fully support the efforts of the Secretary-General and Ambassador Ross to resolve the dispute over the territory of Western Sahara.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Allotments

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether his Department has issued guidance to local authorities on the sale by allotment holders in municipal allotments of their surplus produce.

Barbara Follett: The latest version of Growing in the Community, the good practice guide for local authority allotment officers, was published by the Local Government Association in March 2008 and includes advice on the sale of produce.

Caravan Sites: Travelling People

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Meriden, of 30 June 2009,  Official Report, column 203W, on stop notices: travelling people, if he will change the stop notices rules to allow such notices to be levied against dwellings erected by travellers which are used as dwelling houses.

Shahid Malik: We have no plans to introduce such a change.

Common Land

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what criteria are used to determine the designation of designated green space or common recreational area as a village green; and what information his Department holds on the number of areas registered as village greens.

Huw Irranca-Davies: I have been asked to reply.
	For land to be registered as town or village green under section 15(1) of the Commons Act 2006, the applicant must broadly demonstrate that the land in question was used by a significant number of the local inhabitants 'as of right' for lawful sports and pastimes for no less than 20 years. Where use 'as of right' has ceased, the application must be brought within a specified period. 'As of right' is an established legal principle which means without permission, force or secrecy.
	Registers of town or village greens are held by local authorities. Research in the late 1980s reported 4,332 registered greens in England, and further research in 2005 suggested an increase of about 115 in the number of registered greens between 1993 and 2005. We therefore estimate the present total number of registered greens to be around 4,500.

Community Relations: Finance

Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much his Department has allocated to each group in receipt of funding under the Prevent Partnership area-based grant in each local area since 2008.

Shahid Malik: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Putney (Justine Greening) on 19 June 2009,  Official Report, column 509W.

Council Tax

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the monetary value of council tax receipts was in each Government office region in each year since 2006-07.

Barbara Follett: Details of the council tax collected in each Government Office region (in £ million) in England in each year since 2006-07 are given in the following table.
	
		
			  £ million 
			   2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			 North East 828 872 902 
			 North West 2,349 2,475 2,570 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 1,668 1,755 1,835 
			 East Midlands 1,575 1,653 1,738 
			 West Midlands 1,813 1,918 1,996 
			 East of England 2,345 2,484 2,613 
			 London 2,888 3,051 3,171 
			 South East 3,691 3,892 4,098 
			 South West 2,158 2,274 2,395 
			 England 19,315 20,374 21,319 
		
	
	The data are taken from the Quarterly Return of Council Tax and Non-domestic Rates (QRC4) returns completed annually by all billing authorities in England.

Council Tax

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether the  (a) changing of council tax banding multipliers and  (b) creation of new council tax bands would require (i) primary and (ii) secondary legislation.

Barbara Follett: Both the relative proportions between council tax valuation bands, and the number of bands, may be altered by order of the Secretary of State. Such an order must be laid before and approved by resolution of the House of Commons. The relevant provisions are sections 5(4) and 5 (4 A) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992.

Council Tax

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether re-banding of properties for the purpose of levying council tax would require a partial or full council tax revaluation.

Barbara Follett: The valuation bandings to which individual properties are assigned are, when necessary, changed by the Valuation Office Agency as part of its statutory duty to maintain accurate valuation lists. The allocation of properties to bands differing from those for which section 5 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 provides would not be practicable without a general revaluation.

Council Tax

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment his Department and its predecessor made of the merits of transferring responsibility for council tax collection to county councils in two-tier areas in the last 10 years.

Barbara Follett: No assessment has been made.

Council Tax

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will bring forward proposals to amend the Local Government Act 2003 to allow  (a) county councils and  (b) waste disposal authorities to operate local council tax discounts.

Barbara Follett: The Government have no plans to allow county councils or waste disposal authorities to operate local council tax discounts.

Council Tax

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what local council tax discounts are in operation under the Local Government Act 2003.

Barbara Follett: Details of the types of local council tax discount that were being awarded by billing authorities under the Local Government Act 2003 as at 8 October 2009, the latest date for which figures are available, are listed as follows. Authorities reported they were making local council tax discounts to either individuals or a particular class of taxpayer. The discounts shown may have been awarded by one or more authority.
	 Particular  classes of taxpayer or property
	Difficult to let properties
	Occupied and unoccupied furnished properties that do not have the benefit of mains services including beach chalets
	Pensioners
	Properties affected by flooding and external environmental factors
	Annexes that are not exempt and are part of the main residence
	Properties that are no one person's sole or main residence where access is restricted
	Taxpayers who can comply with the council's Mooring Policy
	Those to whom, because they have been affected by the change in regulations since a discount was originally awarded, a discount has been awarded so as to not disadvantage them
	Various classes of empty properties.
	 Other discretionary discounts based on individual cases
	Hard to sell property
	Hardship
	New unfinished property
	Problems with a chalk mine.

Council Tax

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance his Department provides to local authorities on the maximum period of time after the issuing of a bill for council tax during which they may pursue payment of that bill.

Barbara Follett: Communities and Local Government provides occasional advice through its council tax information letters, which are published on the Department's website. CTIL 1 dated 25 March 2004 provided advice on this issue and is available at the following link.
	http://www.local.odpm.gov.uk/finance/ctax/ctil/ctil1-04.pdf

Council Tax

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance his Department issues to local authorities on the number of instalments in which council tax may be collected.

Barbara Follett: Communities and Local Government provides occasional advice through its council tax information letters, which are published on the Department's website. CTIL 10 dated 10 January 1997 provided advice on instalments and is available at the following link.
	http://www.local.odpm.gov.uk/finance/ctax/ctil/ctil10.pdf

Council Tax

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answer of 20 October 2009,  Official Report, column 1389W, on council housing: finance, if he will place in the Library a copy of the data relating to the gross council tax receipts collected by each local authority in England in cash and real terms for 1997-98.

Barbara Follett: I have today placed in the Library of the House a table containing details of the gross council tax receipts collected by each local authority in England in 1997-98 in both cash and real terms.
	The data are taken from the Quarterly Return of Council Tax and Non-domestic rates returns completed annually by all billing authorities in England and the real terms data are given at 2008-09 prices.
	The data for 1997-98 contain information for a number of authorities that are no longer in existence and therefore the data are not strictly comparable with those for subsequent years.

Council Tax

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether local authorities may levy credit card  (a) fees and  (b) surcharges on (i) council tax bills and (ii) parking fines paid by credit card.

Barbara Follett: The Council Tax (Demand Notices) (England) Regulations 2009 prescribes what information is required on, and with, the council tax demand notice (the bill). This does not include credit card  (a) fees or  (b) surcharges.
	The Department for Transport's operational guidance, 'Operational Guidance to Local Authorities: Parking Policy and Enforcement', to local authorities in England on parking policy and enforcement was published in March 2008. The guidance is available to download at
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/adobepdf/165240/244921/287508/468279/parkingenforcepolicy.pdf

Council Tax: Second Homes

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what representations he has received on proposals to levy a higher rate of council tax on second homes under the Sustainable Communities Act 2007.

Barbara Follett: The Department has not received any formal representations on levying higher rates of council tax under the Sustainable Communities Act 2007 ('the Act'). The Local Government Association, as selector, is considering proposals submitted under the Act and has received a proposal on this subject from Lewes district council and a proposal from Torridge district council. The Government are co-operating with the selector as it draws up a short-list for the Secretary of State to consider.

Council Tax: Valuation

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what proportion of dwellings have been assigned a  (a) dwellinghouse code and  (b) value significant code by the Valuation Office Agency.

Ian Pearson: I have been asked to reply.
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 26 October 2009,  Official Report, column 142W.

Council Tax: Valuation

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answer of 2 November 2009,  Official Report, column 759W, on council tax: valuation, whether the addition of a greenhouse is considered by the Valuation Office Agency to be  (a) a material increase and  (b) value significant for the purpose of council tax valuation and revaluation.

Barbara Follett: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Lord Bates on 6 November 2009,  Official Report, House of Lords, column 96W.

Council Tax: Valuation

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what new files on council tax revaluation have been created by his Department since September 2007.

Barbara Follett: No new files on council tax revaluation have been created since September 2007.

Councillors: Allowances

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether his Department collects data on spending on councillors' allowances from local spending reports.

Barbara Follett: The Department does not collect the information requested.

Departmental Art Works

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much his Department spent on art works in the last 12 months.

Barbara Follett: The Department for Communities and Local Government have not incurred expenditure on works of art in the last 12 months.
	Works of art displayed in Eland House are from the Government Art Collection (GAC), which publishes an annual list of acquisitions. The most recent details of acquisitions made by the GAC were published on 5 October 2009 and are available on the GAC website:
	http://www.gac.culture.gov.uk/information/publications.asp

Departmental Billing

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many and what proportion of invoices submitted to his Department have been paid within 10 days in each month since October 2008; and if he will make a statement.

Barbara Follett: The following table shows how many invoices and what the percentage of invoices have been paid within 10 days since October 2008.
	
		
			  Invoices paid within 10 days of receipt 
			   Number  Percentage 
			  2008   
			 October 3,379 67.30 
			 November 3,442 77.89 
			 December 3,248 85.23 
			
			  2009   
			 January 3,288 81.73 
			 February 3,090 82.75 
			 March 4,461 83.74 
			 April 4,515 83.55 
			 May 3,876 91.83 
			 June 4,550 90.53 
			 July 4,766 92.26 
			 August 4,096 89.88 
			 September 4,285 90.59 
			 October 4,485 93.38 
			 November 4,202 93.01

Departmental Fines

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what powers  (a) his Department and  (b) each of its agencies and non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) have to impose administrative penalties; what the statutory basis is for each such power; and how much (i) his Department and its predecessor and (ii) each of its agencies and NDPBs have recovered in administrative penalties in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available.

Barbara Follett: Section 12 of the Compulsory Purchase Act 1965 provides that, if an acquiring authority, or any of their contractors, wilfully enter on and take possession of any of the land subject to compulsory purchase without complying with subsection (4) of section 11 (which requires compensation to be paid or the landowner to consent to entry), it has to pay the person in possession of that land £10 in addition to the amount of any damage done to the land by entering and taking possession (recoverable summarily as a civil debt).
	Sections 226 to 235 of the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008 give the Tenant Services Authority the power to impose penalties in the circumstances set out in section 227. None of these provisions has yet been brought into force.
	Part 11 of the Planning Act 2008 gives the Secretary of State power, by regulations, to make provision for Community Infrastructure Levy. Section 218 provides that Community Infrastructure Levy regulations may include provision for the imposition of a penalty or surcharge. No regulations under Part 11 have yet been made.

Departmental Legislation

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what criminal offences have been  (a) created and  (b) abolished by secondary legislation sponsored by his Department since 1 May 2008.

Barbara Follett: Offences were in effect created by the Building and Approved Inspectors (Amendment) Regulations 2009 (S.I. 2009/1219) when taken in conjunction with section 35 of the Building Act 1984. The 2009 regulations amended the requirements in the Building Regulations 2000 (S.I. 2000/2531), in particular relating to matters concerning water. By virtue of section 35 of the Building Act, a person contravening any provision in building regulations (other than one designated as excluded) is liable on summary conviction to a fine.
	No criminal offence was abolished since 1 May 2008.

Departmental Marketing

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what rebranding of his Department has been undertaken since its creation; and what the cost to the public purse has been of that rebranding.

Barbara Follett: I refer the hon. Member to the information provided on the Department's website at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/corporate/foi/disclosure-log/disclosurelog2009/brandinglogodesign/

Departmental Ministerial Policy Advisers

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether his Department's special advisers have signed waivers under the European Working Time Directive.

Barbara Follett: Special advisers currently working in Communities and Local Government have signed waivers under the European Working Time Directive.

Departmental Procurement

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Bromley and Chislehurst of 15 June 2009,  Official Report, column 18W, on departmental procurement, 
	(1)  how much was spent on  (a) Euro RSCG London Ltd,  (b) 7E Communications Ltd,  (c) Band  Brown Communications Ltd,  (d) Centair Communications Ltd.,  (e) Coaching Academy UK Limited,  (f) Coullmedia,  (g) Folio Creative Communication Ltd,  (h) GFK NOP Ltd,  (i) Media Moguls,  (j) Modern Media Communications Ltd,  (k) Neal Communication Agency Limited,  (l) On Demand PR and Marketing and  (m) Opinion Leader Research in 2008-09; and for what purpose such funds were spent in each case;
	(2)  how much was spent on  (a) 11 King's Bench Walk Chambers,  (b) DLA Piper UK LLP and  (c) Holden McAllister Ltd in 2008-09; and for what purpose such funds were spent in each case;
	(3)  how much was spent on  (a) Al-Mahdi Institute,  (b) Arab British Holding Group and  (c) Exports Credit Guarantee Department in 2008-09; and for what purpose such funds were spent in each case;
	(4)  how much was spent on  (a) HMS President,  (b) Gordon Engraving,  (c) London Zoo and  (d) Tummy Time in 2008-09; and for what purpose such funds were spent in each case;
	(5)  how much was spent on Connect Public Affairs Ltd. in 2008-09; and for what purpose such funds were spent in each case;
	(6)  how much was spent on  (a) Gonville Hotels Ltd.,  (b) Grand Hotel,  (c) Grand Hotel Union DD,  (d) Grange Hotels,  (e) Grange Wellington Hotel,  (f) Grosvenor Victoria Hotel Ltd.,  (g) Harts Head Hotel,  (h) Hilton Hotel-Bromsgrove,  (i) Hilton Brighton Metropole,  (j) Hilton Manchester Deansgate and  (k) each of the Holiday Inn entries listed in 2008-09; and for what purpose such funds were spent in each case;
	(7)  how much was spent on  (a) Bellhouse Hotel,  (b) Bewleys Hotel,  (c) Birnbeck Hotel Ltd.,  (d) Boxmoor Lodge Hotel,  (e) Brooklands Hotel,  (f) Burlington Hotel,  (g) Cairn Hotel,  (h) Campanile Hotel,  (i) Carrington House Hotel,  (j) Cedar Court Hotel Bradford,  (k) Cedar Court Hotel Harrogate,  (l) Charing Cross Hotel,  (m) County Hotel,  (n) Crowne Plaza London Docklands,  (o) Crowne Plaza London St. James,  (p) Crowne Plaza Nottingham,  (q) De Vere Daresbury Park Hotel,  (r) De Vere Royal Bath Hotel, (s) De Vere Wychwood Park Ltd.,  (t) Donnington Manor Hotel,  (u) Expotel Hotel Reservations Ltd. and  (v) The Jurys Inn Brighton in 2008-09; and for what purpose such funds were spent in each case;
	(8)  how much was spent on  (a) Digby Trout Restaurants,  (b) Fancy A Pint Ltd.,  (c) Flavour of Hockley,  (d) Il Cappuccino London Ltd.,  (e) Leith's,  (f) Leiths at the EICC , (g) Majestic Wine Warehouse Ltd.,  (h) Oddbins of Wimbledon and  (i) Posh Nosh (East Midlands) Ltd. in 2008-09; and for what purpose such funds were spent in each case;
	(9)  how much was spent on  (a) Hotel Maison Rouge,  (b) Jolly Hotel St Ermin's,  (c) Jurys Inn Birmingham,  (d) Jurys Inn Manchester,  (e) Kings Arm Hotel,  (f) Lancaster Landmark Hotel Co Ltd,  (g) London Marriott Hotel Kensington,  (h) Malmaison Hotel,  (i) Mandalay Hotel,  (j) Manor Hotel,  (k) Marriot Hotel Gosforth Park,  (l) Mercure Southgate Hotels Ltd,  (m) Newcastle Marriott Hotel Metro Centre and  (n) Norton Park Hotel Ltd in 2008-09; and for what purpose such funds were spent in each case;
	(10)  how much was spent on  (a) Sea Hotel,  (b) Stoney Croft Hotel,  (c) Sunderland Marriott Hotel,  (d) Thistle Hotel Brighton,  (e) Thistle Hotel London Tower,  (f) Thistle Hotel Westminster,  (g) Village Hotel and Leisure Club and  (h) Angel and Royal Hotel in 2008-09; and for what purpose such funds were spent in each case;
	(11)  how much was spent on  (a) Old Ship Hotel (Brighton) Ltd,  (b) Oxford Spires Four Pillars Hotel,  (c) Paramount Cheltenham Park Hotel,  (d) Park Lane Hotel Ltd,  (e) Prince of Wales Hotel,  (f) Quality Hotel Westminster,  (g) Queens Hotel Brighton,  (h) Queens Hotel Leeds,  (i) Radisson Edwardian Kenilworth Hotel,  (j) Radisson SAS Hotel,  (k) Ramada Birmingham City Centre,  (l) Ramada Jarvis Brighton,  (m) Renaissance Heathrow Hotel,  (n) Riverbank Park Plaza Hotel Ltd,  (o) Royal Horseguards Hotel,  (p) Royal York Hotel and  (q) Rubens at the Palace Hotel in 2008-09; and for what purpose such funds were spent in each case.

Barbara Follett: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Meriden (Mrs. Spelman) on 16 December,  Official Report, column 1266W.
	Details on the purpose of the expenditure are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Procurement

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much was paid to each supplier of goods or services to his Department in 2008-09.

Barbara Follett: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave her on 16 December 2009,  Official Report, column 1266W.

Departmental Public Expenditure

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans he has for future financial allocations to  (a) the Private Sector Renewal Fund,  (b) Growth Point Funding,  (c) the Decent Homes regeneration budget and  (d) his Department's contribution to the regional development agencies.

Ian Austin: Allocations and contributions to each of these funding streams will be subject to decisions in the next Comprehensive Spending Review.

Departmental Public Expenditure

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which of his Department's  (a) programmes and  (b) projects have had their spending brought forward from one year to an earlier year; how much spending has been brought forward in each case; and what effect the bringing forward of expenditure has had on budgets for later years.

Barbara Follett: The Department's Annual Report 2009 (pp 158-9) presents changes to planned expenditure and impact on budgets, including spending brought forward as part of the September 2008 housing package and pre-Budget report 2008. Since publication, £135 million capital expenditure (as part of the £1.5 billion Housing Pledge announced in 'Building Britain's Future') and £50 million Working Neighbourhood Funding has been brought forward from 2010-11 to 2009-10.

Departmental Public Expenditure

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answer of 29 October 2009,  Official Report, columns 519-20W, on departmental public expenditure, which of his Department's capital programmes are expected to underspend their funding allocation for 2009-10.

Barbara Follett: The Department for Communities and Local Government continues to monitor its capital programmes to identify any potential underspends for transfer to the £1.5 billion housing pledge announced in Building Britain's Future. Final levels of capital underspends across the Department's programmes will be determined at the end of the financial year.

Departmental Public Expenditure

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which programmes in his Department were underspent in 2008-09; and by how much in each case.

Barbara Follett: Programme underspends are published at estimates line level in Note 2 Analysis of Net Resource Outturn by Section of our Resource Accounts:
	www.communities.gov.uk/publications/corporate/resourceaccounts0809
	Lower level analysis would be at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Training

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies spent on away days in the last 12 months; and what the (i) subject and (ii) location of each away day was.

Barbara Follett: The Department does not hold information centrally on away days for its officials or those of its Executive Agencies. Away days are approved by Deputy Directors and above in accordance with Departmental procedures and guidance and the associated costs have to be met from within agreed budgets for general administrative expenditure. Unfortunately, there would be a disproportionate cost in obtaining detailed information from local line managers.

Eco-Towns

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the latest timetable is for completion of the proposed eco-town developments.

John Healey: I refer the hon. Member to the answer that I gave him on 8 July 2009,  Official Report, column 902W.

Fire Services

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on how many occasions fire and rescue authorities have been unable to cope with a major fire or incident since 1979; and which fire control room was involved in each case.

Shahid Malik: The Fire and Rescue Service provide an effective and professional response to the incidents they face, making the best possible use of the equipment and technology available to them at any given point. The Fire and Resilience programme will deliver greater capability, resilience and inter-operability to the Fire and Rescue Service to equip them to meet the challenges they face now and in the future.

Fire Services

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what his most recent estimate is of the cost to the public purse of the New Dimension programme; and what budget was set for that programme at its inception.

Shahid Malik: CLG's New Dimension project (formerly a programme) was established in 2001 to enhance the capability of the Fire and Rescue Service (FRS) to respond to major incidents whether caused by terrorist attacks or natural disasters. The estimated budget for the project at that initial stage was £318 million to procure, deliver and implement these new resilience capabilities within the FRS. This did not include ongoing resource costs to the FRS to support the continuing delivery of these capabilities which have already responded to several national events such as the Buncefield oil depot fire in 2005, the widespread 2007 floods and more recently the Cumbrian floods, as well as being mobilised around 200 times each quarter to local events.
	At the end of financial year 2008-09, the Department had invested a total of £425 million in the New Dimension project, although owing to a difference in view over the accounting used, the National Audit Office estimated costs as some £30 million lower, in its value for money review in 2008.
	The overall £425 million cost includes an amount of continuation funding for FRSs including crewing costs which over recent years has amounted to around £14-£15 million per annum.
	In 2008, Ministers announced a funding package totalling £80million over the current spending review period to enable the ongoing delivery of New Dimension capabilities by the FRS. The total New Dimension costs up until 2008-09 include nearly £24 million of this amount, with a further £56 million allocated until the end of 2010-11.

Fire Services

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will publish an updated  (a) national and  (b) regional business case for the FiReControl project.

Shahid Malik: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Peterborough (Mr. Jackson) on 14 December 2009,  Official Report, column 899W.

Fire Services

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the location was of each local FiReControl emergency control room prior to the implementation of the FiReControl project; and how many staff work in each such control room.

Shahid Malik: The control room location information is held by each Fire and Rescue Authority (FRA) individually; responsibility for current staffing figures also rests with the FRAs. The latest information provided to the department by the FRAs is published in full on our website at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/corporate/statistics/frsoperationalstats2008-09

Fire Services: Finance

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answer to Lord Hanningfield of 18 December 2007,  Official Report,  House of Lords, column 117WA, and to the answer to the hon. Member for Copeland (Mr. Reed) of 2 November 2009,  Official Report, column 764W, on fire services: finance, what his most recent estimate is of the total cost to the public purse of regional fire control rooms over 15 years; and on what estimate of the time taken to implement the FiReControl project the estimated cost of £420 million was based.

Shahid Malik: Our most recent estimates of the cost over the 15 year period are set out in the FiReControl Business Case published on 6 May 2009.
	Under current planning assumptions the first regional fire control centres are expected to become operational in spring 2011 and the last Fire and Rescue Service will switch over by the end of 2012.

Fire Services: Finance

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what payments have been made to EADS in respect of the FiReControl project; and what estimate has been made of the monetary value of such payments at the end of the relevant contracts.

Shahid Malik: In line with the contract, to date we have paid EADS £33 million. The total value of the contract is £200 million.

Fire Services: Finance

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much has been spent on the FiReControl project; and what the estimated  (a) gross and  (b) net cost of that project is in each of the next five years.

Shahid Malik: The expenditure to date on the project is approximately £190 million. The estimated remaining FiReControl implementation project cost is about £230 million. Beyond implementation Communities and Local Government has also committed to support any Fire and Rescue Authority for whom operating costs are forecast to increase under the new networked control arrangements. The current estimate for this is £8.2 million each year.

Fire Services: Finance

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Peterborough (Mr. Jackson) of 20 July 2009,  Official Report, column 811W, on fire services, if he will publish an updated estimated gross total cost of the FiReControl project.

Shahid Malik: The estimated total cost of implementing the FiReControl project is £420 million.

Fire Services: Industrial Disputes

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance has been issued by  (a) his Department,  (b) Firebuy and  (c) the Fire Service College on actions which contingency staff are permitted to take in circumstances in which fire services are affected by industrial action to train on fire appliances currently used by fire-fighters.

Shahid Malik: No advice has been issued by my Department, Firebuy, or the Fire Service College, on the circumstances in which contingency staff are permitted to train on fire appliances or cross picket lines when a fire and rescue service is affected by industrial action. The provision of emergency fire cover during disputes is the responsibility of fire and rescue services, and it is for them to ensure any staff they commission directly or indirectly have received the necessary training and guidance.

Fires: Smoking

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether his Department's fire research programme has undertaken research into  (a) the effects of the ban on smoking in public places on the incidence of smoking-related domestic fires and  (b) the proportion of domestic fires which occur as a result of smoking in the home since 2007.

Shahid Malik: No research has been carried out from the Department's fire and resilience research programme into  (a) the effects of the ban on smoking in public places on the incidence of smoking related domestic fires or  (b) the proportion of domestic fires which occur as a result of smoking in the home since 2007.
	However, Fire and Rescue Services record details of incidents attended and the proportion of domestic fires which occur as a result of smoking in the home since 2007 are shown in the table.
	
		
			  Accidental dwelling fires, England, 2007 and 2008( 1) 
			  Percentage 
			  Source of ignition  2007  2008( 1) 
			 Smokers' materials 6.7 5.9 
			 Cigarette lighters 1.2 0.7 
			 Matches 0.7 0.6 
			
			 Total number 34,960 32,872 
			 (1) Provisional. Data for total dwelling fires 2008 are provisional and subject to change.   Source: Fire Incident Records database, Communities and Local Government

Flood Control

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what his most recent assessment is of progress in the implementation of recommendation 38 of the Pitt Report on flooding in respect of the number of mutual aid agreements with local authorities; and what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of such agreements.

Dawn Butler: I have been asked to reply 
	to the hon. Member's question as the Cabinet Office published the 'Mutual Aid-A short guide for local authorities' guidance.
	Progress on local implementation of the Pitt recommendations is included in the progress report on the Government's response to the Pitt review which was published on 15 December by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Hotels

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many hotel room nights were booked by officials in  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies in each year since 2007; and how much (i) his Department and (ii) its agencies spent on the fees of third party agents in booking hotel accommodation in each of those years.

Barbara Follett: The Department does not hold this information centrally and it could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	The Planning Inspectorate does not hold this information centrally and it could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	Fire Service college have supplied the following details:
	
		
			   Number of room nights 
			 2007 261 
			 2008 792 
			 2009 681 
			 The FSC does not incur a fee with a third party agent. 
		
	
	Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre has estimated the following figures:
	
		
			   Number of room nights 
			 2007 84 
			 2008 50 
			 2009 85 
			 QEIICC does not pay an agency to book hotel accommodation.

Local Development Frameworks

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what account the Infrastructure Planning Commission will take of a local development framework in considering a planning application.

John Healey: The Infrastructure Planning Commission will determine applications in accordance with any relevant national policy statement but they must also have regard to any local impact report submitted by a relevant local authority, any prescribed matters and any other matters that they think are both important and relevant to their decision. The local development framework will often be an important and relevant consideration.

Local Government Employers

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what funding was provided from the public purse to  (a) Local Government Employers,  (b) the Improvement and Development Agency and  (c) LACORS in the last 12 months.

Barbara Follett: Communities and Local Government provided the following funding in the last financial year (2008-09):
	
		
			   Funding (£ million) 
			 Local Government Employers 4.056 
			 Improvement  Development Agency 32.480 
			 Local Authorities Coordinators of Regulatory Services 2.08 
		
	
	The Department does not hold information about other funding which these bodies receive. Other Government Departments may provide funding for specific activities.

Local Government Executive

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether a timetable has been set for bringing forward proposals for rules relating to the terms of office of office-holders in the indirectly-elected leader and cabinet executive model of local government referred to in his Department's White Paper on Communities in Control.

Barbara Follett: The Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 makes provision for the rules relating to the terms of office of the leader in the indirectly-elected leader and cabinet executive model, and we have no plans to amend this.

Local Government Finance

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent estimate he has made of the proportion of local spending by public bodies which is controlled by local authorities.

Barbara Follett: No estimate has been made.

Local Government Finance

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what mechanisms his Department plans to put in place for the purposes of meeting its targets relating to the implementation of participatory budgeting in local authority areas by 2012; and whether he plans to require local authorities to implement participatory budgeting.

Barbara Follett: The Government published its National Strategy on participatory budgeting in 2008. This set out the support available to councils, communities and their partners to help them promote and deliver participatory budgeting. The Government funds the Participatory Budgeting Unit (PBU), a project of the third sector organisation 'Church Action on Poverty', as a key delivery partner. The PBU helps to promote participatory budgeting and advises community development workers and local authority officials on the development of new projects.
	There are no plans to 'require' local authorities to introduce participatory budgeting schemes.

Local Government Finance

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether his Department has made an estimate of the level of expenditure by local authorities on litigation relating to the implementation of conditional fee agreements.

Barbara Follett: This information is not collected by the Department.

Local Government Finance

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent estimate his Department has made of the number of local authorities whose expenditure on free bus travel has exceeded the value of central Government funding for such travel.

Barbara Follett: None, since it is not possible to say how much grant has been provided to each authority for concessionary travel.
	Government funding for concessionary travel currently comes from two sources: formula grant and special grant.
	Formula grant, which comprises revenue support grant, redistributed business rates and principal formula police grant where appropriate, is largely distributed using the socio-economic and demographic characteristics of the authority, together with the number of band D equivalent properties within the authority's area. We apply the same formula to all authorities that provide the same services and we also use the best data that are available on a consistent basis across all authorities. We then ensure that every authority receives at least a minimum percentage increase year-on-year (the 'floor') on a like-for-like basis i.e. after adjusting for changes in funding and function. In order to pay for the cost of the floor, we scale back the increase above the floor for all other authorities.
	Within formula grant, there is no specific formula for concessionary fares. It is an unhypothecated block grant i.e. authorities are free to spend the money on any service, provided they meet their statutory duties. For this reason, and due to the method of calculating formula grant, particularly floor damping, it is not possible to say how much grant has been provided for any particular service.
	From 2008-09, following the change to national free travel for concessionaires, concessionary travel authorities additionally receive a share of the £212 million concessionary fares special grant from the Department for Transport.

Local Government Finance: East Sussex

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much funding from  (a) revenue support,  (b) capital grant and  (c) supported borrowing was provided by central Government to (i) East Sussex County Council, (ii) Lewes District Council and (iii) Wealden District Council in (A) 2007-08 and (B) 2008-09.

Barbara Follett: The following table provides the amount of formula grant, which is made up of Revenue Support Grant and redistributed business rates for non-police authorities, for each of the authorities requested. Formula grant is an unhypothecated block grant. This means that authorities are free to spend the money on any service provided that they meet their statutory duties.
	
		
			   Local authority  Prior years adjusted formula grant (£ million)  Current year's formula grant (£ million)  Change (£ million)  Percentage change 
			 2007-08 East Sussex 79,411 81,555 2,144 2.7 
			 2008-09 County Council 91,026 93,781 2,755 3.0 
			 2007-08 Lewes District 5,755 6,092 0,337 5.9 
			 2008-09 Council 6,141 6,228 0,087 1.4 
			 2007-08 Wealden District 7,593 7,822 0,228 3.0 
			 2008-09 Council 7,895 7,974 0,079 1.0 
		
	
	Information on the provision of capital grants is not held centrally.
	Supported borrowing or Supported Capital Expenditure (Revenue) is supported through formula grant. Since formula grant is an unhypothecated block grant, and due to the calculations of formula grant, particularly floor damping, it is not possible to say how much grant has been provided for the support of capital expenditure.

Local Government: Bank Services

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much and what proportion of the deposits of each local authority in Icelandic banks have been refunded; when he expects further such repayments to be made; and what his most recent estimate is of the monetary value of  (a) deposits that will not be refunded and  (b) interest on such deposits.

Barbara Follett: The Resolution Committee for Landsbanki and Glitnir and the UK administrators of Heritable and Kaupthing, Singer and Friedland Ltd. have published information on likely rates of return and when they expect repayments to be made. Local authorities are in direct contact with these administrators. Reports suggest that the second tranche of repayments for Heritable and Kaupthing, Singer and Friedland Ltd. were made in December 2009.

Local Government: Broadcasting

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether his Department issues guidance to local authorities on funding for their own television  (a) channels and  (b) programmes.

Barbara Follett: There is no guidance issued to local authorities by my Department for these purposes.

Local Government: North West

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what information his Department holds on the level of  (a) salary,  (b) car mileage allowance and  (c) other allowances of the (i) chief executive, (ii) assistant chief executives and (iii) deputy chief executives of each county council in the North West.

Barbara Follett: The information requested is not held centrally.

Local Government: Pay

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government by what mechanisms local authorities approve the salary awarded to their chief executives.

Barbara Follett: The pay of local authority chief executives is a matter for each local authority as the employer. The local authority can have regard to guidance issued by the Joint Negotiating Committee for Local Authority Chief Executives: 'National Salary Framework and Conditions of Service Handbook, September 2009'.

Local Government: Pensions

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans he has for the future of the Local Government Pension Scheme.

Barbara Follett: The Government will continue to ensure that the Local Government Pension Scheme in England and Wales remains affordable, viable and fair to taxpayers while providing decent pensions for its members. Working closely with all scheme stakeholders, we will be taking forward the announcement made in the pre-Budget report about the savings to be made by public service pension schemes, including the LGPS, from 2012-13 onwards.

Local Government: Pensions

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the cost to the public purse was of employers' contributions to the Local Government Pension scheme in each year since 1997-98.

Barbara Follett: The information requested is shown in the following table. These figures represent the actual amount of contributions paid by employers participating in the Local Government Pension scheme based on the Local Government Pension Fund (SF3) annual returns submitted to Communities and Local Government by scheme administering authorities in England.
	
		
			   England (£ million) 
			 1997-98 1,520 
			 1998-99 1,788 
			 1999-2000 1,972 
			 2000-01 2,273 
			 2001-02 2,617 
			 2002-03 2,916 
			 2003-04 3,217 
			 2004-05 3,544 
			 2005-06 4,124 
			 2006-07 4,626 
			 2007-08 5,009 
			 2008-09 5,400

Local Government: Pensions

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what  (a) items of statistical data and  (b) regular reports local authority pension funds provide to his Department.

Barbara Follett: A copy of the local government pension fund (SF3) annual return (and its associated guidance notes) that is used to collect statistical data from Local Government Pension scheme administering authorities can be found on the Communities and Local Government website at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/localgovernment/localregional/localgovernmentfinance/statistics/usefilinformation/formstimetable/otherforms/
	Local Government Pension scheme administering authorities are required under the scheme's regulations to submit to the Secretary of State copies of their statement of investment principles, governance compliance statements and triennial fund valuation reports. On a voluntary basis, pension fund annual reports and funding strategy statements are also submitted to the Department.

Local Government: Publicity

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether his Department collects information from local spending reports on expenditure by local authorities on publicity for their services.

Barbara Follett: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Mayors

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether he plans to implement the proposal in his Department's Communities in Control White Paper on reducing the  (a) petition threshold for mayoral referendums to two per cent. and  (b) time between referendums from 10 to four years.

Barbara Follett: The Government's Communities in Control White Paper proposed that a consultation should be held on reducing the petition threshold for mayoral referendums-perhaps to 2, 3 or 4 per cent. Our consultation paper Changing Council Governance Arrangements, Mayors and Indirectly Elected Leaders invited comments on these proposals by March 2009, and also sought views on the proposal to reduce the time between referendums from 10 to four years where the first one had resulted in no change to governance arrangements. Responses to the consultation showed little support for any of these changes and, having carefully considered all of the comments received, we will be publishing our formal response.

National Policy Statements

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what timetable has been set for the publication of National Policy Statements in their final versions.

John Healey: The timetable for publication of draft and final National Policy Statements is set out in the Route Map for implementation of the Infrastructure Planning Commission regime. An updated Route Map was published on the Department for Communities and Local Government website on 15 December. A copy is available in the Library.

Non-Domestic Rates

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what proportion of eligible businesses of each rateable value he expects to claim small business rate relief in  (a) 2009-10 and  (b) 2010-11.

Barbara Follett: Local authorities reported there were 392,000 businesses in England in receipt of small business rate relief (SBRR) as at 31 December 2006, the only year for which this information is currently available. A recent estimate of the take-up of small business rate relief based on this information is available on the CLG website at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/localgovernment/smallbusinessmethod
	We estimate that around 575,000 small businesses are eligible for SBRR and that 68 per cent. of these (392,000) were claiming SBRR on 31 December 2006. We further estimate that about 92 per cent. of the total relief that would be granted if all 575,000 businesses claimed it was actually paid out in 2008-09.
	Information on the number of businesses expected to claim small business rate relief in 2009-10 and 2010-11 is not currently available. Data on the rateable value of businesses claiming small business rate relief are not collected by local authorities.
	Relief granted to small businesses has been increasing since SBRR was introduced-from £202 million in 2005-06 to £298 million in 2008-09. This represents a real terms increase of 34 per cent.
	We agree that it is important to make it as easy as possible for eligible small businesses to access the relief. We took action in 2008 to remove the requirement for claimants to re-apply each year, so that a small business only has to apply once in each revaluation period. On 18 September 2009 we announced that we would remove the requirement to re-apply for SBRR at revaluation in 2010, a move which has been welcomed by the FSB. The legislation to remove the requirement is contained in the Non-Domestic Rating (Small Business Rate Relief) (England) (Amendment) (No. 2) Order 2009 which was laid before the House on 9 December.
	We understand concerns to ensure that every eligible small business receives the relief by making it wholly automatic, with no requirement to fill in an application form. Unfortunately neither we nor local authorities hold the necessary data to determine which ratepayers are eligible. Automating SBRR would require us to change the eligibility criteria-meaning that large chains could benefit, and that the supplement paid by other businesses to fund the relief would increase.

Non-Domestic Rates

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Putney (Justine Greening) of 10 November 2009,  Official Report, column 283W, on non-domestic rates: valuation, how many hereditaments in each billing authority or closest administrative unit there are in each special category code on the draft 2010 Rating List.

Barbara Follett: I have placed in the Library of the House a table showing the number of hereditaments for England broken down by the full alphanumeric special category code and billing authority on the draft 2010 Rating Lists as at 2 November 2009. These data are consistent with the statistical release titled: Non-domestic rateable values: 2010 Local Ratings Lists-England and Wales published on 18 December 2009. A copy of this statistical release is available at the following link:
	http://www.voa.gov.uk/publications/statistical_releases/VOA_Statistics_Release_Final.pdf
	The number of hereditaments in each special category code has been rounded to the nearest 10.
	The five-yearly business rates revaluations make sure each business pays its fair contribution and no more by ensuring the share of the national rates bill paid by any one business reflects changes over time in the value of their property relative to others. The 2010 revaluation will not raise a single extra penny for Government.
	Ratepayers occupying over a million properties will see their business rate liabilities come down as a result of revaluation. The Government intend to put in place a £2 billion relief scheme to limit the impact on the minority with bill increases. This is on top of the wider support available to help ease business pressures including discounted rate bills for small businesses and deferring tax payments.

Non-Domestic Rates

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government for what reasons the cost of transitional relief in the  (a) 2005 and  (b) 2010 business rate revaluations is not being met from the public purse.

Barbara Follett: We are required by section 57A of the Local Government Finance Act 1988 to have the objective of funding the cost of transitional relief from other ratepayers and not from the public purse.
	The five-yearly business rates revaluations make sure each business pays its fair contribution and no more by ensuring the share of the national rates bill paid by any one business reflects changes over time in the value of their property relative to others. The 2010 revaluation will not raise a single extra penny for Government.
	Over a million properties will see their business rate liabilities come down as a result of revaluation. The Government intends to put in place a £2 billion relief scheme to limit the impact on the minority with bill increases. This is on top of the wider support available to help ease business pressures including discounted rate bills for small businesses and deferring tax payments.

Non-Domestic Rates

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the net cost to the public purse after the application of downward phasing was of providing transitional relief in respect of business rate revaluation in each year of the 2005 to 2010 rating cycle.

Barbara Follett: The net transitional relief for each year of the 2005 and 2010 cycle is presented in the following table. These figures are for the local list only.
	
		
			   Net transitional relief (£ million) 
			 2005-06 -870 
			 2006-07 -353 
			 2007-08 -138 
			 2008-09 -66 
			 2009-10 17 
		
	
	These figures have been taken from national non domestic rates returns. These do not include adjustments made with respect to previous years.

Non-Domestic Rates

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the take-up rate of the 2009 business rate deferral scheme in respect of the  (a) five per cent. rise in business rates in April 2009 and  (b) end of the 2005 rating cycle transitional relief.

Barbara Follett: The impact assessment to accompany the Non-Domestic Rating (Deferred Payments) (England) Regulations estimated that between 50 per cent. and 90 per cent. of businesses will choose to defer increases in their rates bills in 2009-10. No estimate has been made of breakdown between those deferring due to the RPI adjustment and those deferring due to the ending of the 2005 transitional relief scheme.

Non-Domestic Rates

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much and what proportion of gross revenue from non-domestic rates was not redistributed to local authorities in each year since 1997-98.

Barbara Follett: All gross revenue from non-domestic rates is redistributed to local authorities but not necessarily in the year in which they are collected.
	Each year, the Government estimate how much will be redistributed from the pool in the forthcoming year, based on the amount likely to be paid into it and the difference in previous years between the amounts payable to the pool and the amounts paid from it. This is known as the distributable amount and is fixed before the relevant financial year begins. For this reason it is not possible to make a meaningful comparison between what eventually goes into the pool and what is then redistributed from it in any one year.
	Information on non-domestic rate yields and the distributable amount are given in Tables 2.3 (d and l) of Local Government Financial Statistics England No 19 2009.

Non-Domestic Rates

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Putney (Justine Greening) of 10 November 2009,  Official Report, columns 281-83W, on non-domestic rates: valuation, how many hereditaments on the 1995 Rating List were in each special category code in 1997.

Barbara Follett: The available information requested has been deposited in the Library and relates to information contained in the 1995 Rating List as at 1 April 1997. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10. The table is based on SCAT codes applicable at the time. The use of SCAT codes for some categories has changed since 1997.

Non-Domestic Rates

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the Statement of Lord McKenzie of 14 October 2009,  Official Report,  House of Lords, column 298, on non-domestic rating regulations, if he will place in the Library a copy of the correspondence between his Department and the Inspector General of the Insolvency Service.

Barbara Follett: A copy of the correspondence was placed in the House Library in February 2009 accompanying a letter dated 10 February from the then Minister for Local Government, my right hon. Friend the Member for Wentworth (John Healey) and my right hon. Friend the Financial Secretary to the hon. Member for Sevenoaks (Mr. Fallon), the Chairman of the Treasury Sub-Committee.

Non-Domestic Rates

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the estimated  (a) maximum and  (b) average value of small business rate relief, in cash terms is for (i) 2008-09, (ii) 2009-10 and (iii) 2010-11, including the value of the small business multiplier.

Barbara Follett: Details of the maximum value of small business rate relief, in cash terms for 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11 are shown in the following tables.
	
		
			  Maximum value of small business rate relief 
			  £ 
			   2008-09  2009-10  2010-11 
			 England (excluding City of London) 1,165.00 1,222.50 1,263.00 
			 City of London 1,175.00 1,232.50 n/a 
			 n/a = not available 
		
	
	
		
			  Small business rate multiplier 
			  Pence 
			   2008-09  2009-10  2010-11 
			 England (excluding City of London) 45.8 48.1 40.7 
			 City of London 46.2 48.5 n/a 
			 n/a = not available. 
		
	
	No estimate has been made of the average value of small business rate relief.

Non-Domestic Rates

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether he has plans to  (a) make or  (b) lay before Parliament in draft further statutory instruments relating to business rates in the next six months.

Barbara Follett: The following table provides details of the amendments to statutory instruments in relation to business rates that my Department intends to make over the next six months.
	
		
			   Purpose 
			  Ongoing business rates system  
			 Demand notices To allow for changes to the information provided with rates bills to reflect the revaluation 2010. 
			 Empty property rates To allow for the extension in the empty property rate relief threshold for 2010-11. 
			 Court fees To allow billing authorities to recover the cost of higher court fees and associated administrative expenses from council tax and business rates debtors. 
			   
			  Business rates supplement (BRS)  
			 Cost of collection To allow levying authorities an allowance for costs of collecting a BRS. 
			 Demand notices To allow for changes to the information provided with rates bills to reflect a BRS. 
			 Collection and enforcements To allow for the collection and enforcement of a BRS. 
			 Admin and accountings To allow for the administration and accounting of a BRS. 
			 Ballots To allow for a ballot to be held for certain BRS.

Non-Domestic Rates: Empty Property

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Putney (Justine Greening) of 13 July 2009,  Official Report, column 131W, on non-domestic rates: empty property, if he will place in the Library a copy of the representations from the six trade bodies; and what the names are of the 349 groups making written representations, excluding any which have requested confidentiality.

Barbara Follett: The representations from the six trade bodies have been placed in the House Library. The names of other groups that made representations to my Department are:
	Association of Convenience Stores;
	Institute of Revenues, Rating and Valuation;
	The Company of Cutlers in Hallamshire;
	Weymouth Chamber of Commerce;
	Portsmouth Chamber of Commerce;
	Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.
	The names of private individuals who made representations are not being disclosed on data protection grounds.
	Our reforms to empty property relief are principled and right for the long-term. They provide a strong incentive on owners to bring empty property back into use, helping to improve access to premises for businesses and so to exert a downward pressure on commercial rents.
	However, we provided owners with real help to manage short-term pressures in a difficult property market by exempting all empty properties with rateable values up to £15,000 from business rates in 2009-10.
	We have listened to the continued concerns of owners and are extending the temporary measure for a further 12 months-to cover the whole of 2010-11-and we are uprating the threshold to £18,000 in line with the general movement of property values at revaluation.

Non-Domestic Rates: Entertainments

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what methodology is to be used by the Valuation Office Agency to value travelling funfairs and circuses for the purposes of the 2010 business rates revaluation.

Barbara Follett: Travelling funfairs and circuses do not, by their nature, occupy a permanent site for shows and will not, therefore, be valued for rating. The permanent occupiers of these sites may be liable to rates, e.g. as a car park and valued as such. Winter quarters, where there is a permanent retained occupation, will be liable to rates.

Non-Domestic Rates: Ports

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answer to Lord Bates of 12 November 2009,  Official Report,  House of Lords, column 208WA, on non-domestic rates: ports, how many hereditaments in ports are liable for backdated business rates following the implementation of the new arrangements; how many businesses have fully discharged their backdated liability; how many businesses have been granted a schedule of payments; and how many have received lower valuation consequent on a review of a valuation under the new arrangements.

Barbara Follett: As of 4 January 2010, there are 723 hereditaments within the 45 large, statutory, ports and container terminals in England with a liability for business rates backdated to 1 April 2005. 94 of these hereditaments have seen a change to their rateable value as a consequence of an appeal.
	As at 8 October 2009, local authorities had reported that businesses occupying 221 properties within ports had fully discharged their backdated liability and that businesses occupying a further 200 business properties within ports had been granted a schedule of payments.
	Properties located within the ports that satisfy the tests of rateability have always been subject to separate assessment-this is not a new regime. The purpose of the review of ports that has been carried out by the Valuation Office Agency is to ensure that all individual business properties within and outside ports are rated fairly in order to distribute the burden of contributions to local government equitably between businesses around the country.
	The Government have listened to the concerns of businesses with significant and unexpected backdated bills, including those within ports. It has legislated to allow such bills to be repaid over an unprecedented eight year period rather than in a single instalment, to help affected businesses to manage the impact on their cash flows during the downturn by reducing the amount they are required to pay now by 87.5 per cent.

Non-Domestic Rates: Public Houses

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answer of 9 November 2009,  Official Report, column 75W, on non-domestic rates: public houses, whether an assessment has been made of the effect of the rates revaluation on  (a) public houses and  (b) post offices which have diversified.

Barbara Follett: No estimates of the likely bills after revaluation have been made for public houses or post offices which have been diversified. These will contain not only transitional relief, but also all other reliefs, some of which will be determined by the billing authority in question .
	The five-yearly business rates revaluations make sure each business pays its fair contribution and no more by ensuring that the share of the national rates bill paid by any one business reflects changes over time in the value of their property relative to others. The 2010 revaluation will not raise a single extra penny for Government.
	Over a million properties will see their business rate liabilities come down as a result of revaluation. The Government intend to put in place a £2 billion relief scheme to limit the impact on the minority with bill increases. This is on top of the wider support available to help ease business pressures including discounted rate bills for small businesses and deferring tax payments.

Non-Domestic Rates: Valuation

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made, other than by means of his Department's consultation on transitional relief, of the effects on businesses of the 2010 rating revaluation; and what estimate he has made of the likely level of non-payment of rates owing to business closures in 2010.

Barbara Follett: On 8 July 2009 my Department published Business Rates Information Letter number 10/2009 which contained information on the regional and sector impacts of the 2010 revaluation. On 17 November 2009 my Department published a final impact assessment on transitional arrangements scheme which included information about the impacts of the revaluation. And from 1 October 2009, ratepayers have been able to check their own new rateable value and check their new rates bill using the business rates calculator on the business link website.
	We have made no estimate of the likely level of non-payment of rates in 2010 due to revaluation. The five-yearly business rates revaluations make sure each business pays its fair contribution and no more by ensuring the share of the national rates bill paid by any one business reflects changes over time in the value of their property relative to others. The 2010 revaluation will not raise a single extra penny for Government.
	Over a million properties will see their business rate liabilities come down as a result of revaluation. The Government intend to put in place a £2 billion relief scheme to limit the impact on the minority with bill increases. This is on top of the wider support available to help ease business pressures including discounted rate bills for small businesses and deferring tax payments.

Non-Domestic Rates: Valuation

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what his most recent estimate is of the  (a) gross cost before and  (b) net cost after the application of downward phasing of providing transitional relief in respect of business rate revaluation in each year of the 2010-15 rating cycle.

Barbara Follett: The following table shows the estimates of gross cost before and the net cost after the application of transition relief for each year of the 2010-15 cycle. The figures for the gross cost before the application of transition relief can be found on table 3 on Annex B of the The transitional Arrangements for the Non-domestic Rating Revaluation 2010 in England consultation document. The assumptions used for the purpose of this modelling are discussed in its Methodology annex. A copy of the consultation document is available at the following link:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/localgovemment/nndrrevaluation2010
	The figures have been rounded to the nearest £5 million. This is consistent to what was used in the consultation document.
	
		
			  £ million 
			   Gross cost before transition  Net cost after transition 
			 2010-11 1,155 (1)- 
			 2011-12 570 (1)- 
			 2012-13 235 (1)- 
			 2013-14 70 (1)- 
			 2014-15 30 (1)- 
			 Total 2,060 (1)- 
			 (1 )All these figures are non zero. When rounding to the nearest £5 million, they round to zero. 
		
	
	The five-yearly business rates revaluations make sure each business pays its fair contribution and no more by ensuring the share of the national rates bill paid by any one business reflects changes over time in the value of their property relative to others. The 2010 revaluation will not raise a single extra penny for Government.
	Over a million properties will see their business rate liabilities come down as a result of revaluation. The Government intend to put in place a £2 billion relief scheme to limit the impact on the minority with bill increases. That is on top of the wider support available to help ease business pressures including discounted rate bills for small businesses and deferring tax payments.

Non-Domestic Rates: Valuation

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether he expects the 2010 rates revaluation to be revenue-neutral across  (a) the five year cycle and  (b) in each year of that cycle.

Barbara Follett: For the 2010 revaluation the small business multiplier has been reduced to 40.7p to ensure that on 1 April 2010 (the first day of the 2010 rating list) the gross yield will be the same, in real terms, after allowing for future appeals, as the gross rates yield expected for 31 March 2010 (the last day of the 2005 rating list). Therefore, the process of introducing new rateable values on 1 April 2010 will be revenue neutral in real terms. Thereafter, the rates yield may vary in the normal way with, for instance, ongoing changes to the rating list.
	The five-yearly business rates revaluations make sure each business pays its fair contribution and no more by ensuring the share of the national rates bill paid by any one business reflects changes over time in the value of their property relative to others. The 2010 revaluation will not raise a single extra penny for Government.
	Over a million properties will see their business rate liabilities come down as a result of revaluation. The Government intend to put in place a £2 billion relief scheme to limit the impact on the minority with bill increases. This is on top of the wider support available to help ease business pressures including discounted rate bills for small businesses and deferring tax payments.

Non-Domestic Rates: Valuation

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which 50 individual hereditaments in the South East had the biggest percentage change in rateable value between the 2005 Rating List and the draft 2010 Rating List; what the  (a) location and  (b) local authority area is of each; and what the rateable value of each is on each list.

Barbara Follett: The following table shows the rateable value on the 2005 Rating List and the draft 2010 Rating List for the 50 individual hereditaments in the South East Government Office Region that had the biggest percentage increase between the two lists, as at 2 November 2009.
	These data are consistent with the statistical release titled: Non-domestic rateable values: 2010 Local Ratings Lists-England and Wales, published on 18 December 2009. A copy of the statistical release is available at the following link:
	http://www.voa.gov.uk/publications/statistical_releases/VOA_Statistics_Release_Final.pdf
	No address information other than postcode is held in the dataset used for the analysis. The address, 2005 list rateable value and 2010 draft list rateable value from the live database for each hereditament in the central and local rating lists are published on the Valuation Office Agency's website. This information is updated weekly.
	http://www.voa.gov.uk
	
		
			  Rank  Billing authority  Rateable value on the 2005 ratings list (£)( 1)  Rateable value on the draft 2010 ratings list (£) 
			 1 Mid Sussex Less than 500 17,000 
			 2 Maidstone Less than 500 1,000 
			 3 Mole Valley Less than 500 Less than 500 
			 4 Canterbury Less than 500 14,000 
			 5 Eastleigh Less than 500 3,000 
			 6 Chichester Less than 500 5,000 
			 7 Milton Keynes Less than 500 3,000 
			 8 Tonbridge and Malling 1,000 12,000 
			 9 Isle of Wight Less than 500 1,000 
			 10 Swale 1,000 13,000 
			 11 Chichester Less than 500 4,000 
			 12 Oxford 1,000 11,000 
			 13 West Oxfordshire 1,000 14,000 
			 14 Winchester 1,000 10,000 
			 15 Reading 6,000 76,000 
			 16 Wealden 2,000 18,000 
			 17 Tandridge Less than 500 1,000 
			 18 Eastbourne 2,000 20,000 
			 19 Test Valley 1,000 6,000 
			 20 Tunbridge Wells 1,000 16,000 
			 21 Runnymede 24,000 252,000 
			 22 Dover Less than 500 1,000 
			 23 Arun Less than 500 Less than 500 
			 24 Rother Less than 500 Less than 500 
			 25 Isle of Wight Less than 500 2,000 
			 26 Test Valley 2,000 14,000 
			 27 Thanet Less than 500 1,000 
			 28 Reading 6,000 54,000 
			 29 Brighton and Hove 2,000 21,000 
			 30 New Forest 1,000 11,000 
			 31 Shepway 2,000 14,000 
			 32 Slough 4,000 33,000 
			 33 West Berkshire 2,000 12,000 
			 34 Lewes 9,000 70,000 
			 35 Slough 4,000 35,000 
			 36 Hastings 6,000 44,000 
			 37 Reigate and Banstead 5,000 40,000 
			 38 Thanet 1,000 10,000 
			 39 Isle of Wight 3,000 22,000 
			 40 Cherwell 2,000 11.000 
			 41 Chichester Less than 500 2,000 
			 42 Portsmouth 21,000 156,000 
			 43 Tonbridge and Malling 18,000 131,000 
			 44 Ashford Less than 500 1,000 
			 45 Adur Less than 500 1,000 
			 46 Adur Less than 500 1,000 
			 47 Adur Less than 500 1,000 
			 48 Adur Less than 500 1,000 
			 49 Adur Less than 500 1,000 
			 50 Adur Less than 500 1,000 
			 (1) The figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000. 
		
	
	The five-yearly business rates revaluations make sure each business pays its fair contribution and no more by ensuring the share of the national rates bill paid by any one business reflects changes over time in the value of their property relative to others. The 2010 revaluation will not raise a single extra penny for Government.
	Ratepayers occupying over a million properties-60 per cent. of total properties-will see their business rate liabilities come down as a result of revaluation. The Government's £2 billion transitional relief scheme will limit the impact on the minority with bill increases, ensuring that in 2010-11 no small property will see an increase of more than 3.5 per cent. as a result of revaluation, with increases capped at 11 per cent. for larger properties. This is on top of the wider support available as part of Real Help Now to help ease business pressures including discounted rate bills for small businesses and deferring tax payments.

Offenders

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many employees of his Department and its agencies have been convicted of a criminal offence of each type in each year since 1997.

Barbara Follett: Less than five employees of Communities and Local Government have been convicted of a criminal offence in total since 1997. Publication of further details could breach our rules of confidentiality and are thus not provided.

Oneplace

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the cost to his Department was of building the Oneplace web portal was; what budget he has allocated for the purpose of advertising the launch of Oneplace; and what estimate he has made of the cost of maintaining Oneplace in its first year of operation.

Rosie Winterton: This is an operational matter for the Audit Commission, and I will ask the chief executive of the Audit Commission to write to the hon. Member direct.
	 Letter from Steve Bundred, dated 5 January 2009:
	Your Parliamentary Question outlined above has been passed to me to reply.
	The cost incurred by the Audit Commission of building the Oneplace web portal is £484,000. This includes an estimated £220,000 on design and consultation with members of the public to ensure that the site meets their needs. The Audit Commission has spent £9,000 advertising the launch of this new service. The cost of maintaining Oneplace in the first year of operation is estimated to be £120,000.
	A copy of this letter will be placed in Hansard.

Parking

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will place in the Library a copy of each research project commissioned by his Department on residential car parking in the last five years.

Barbara Follett: A copy of the report, 'Residential Car Parking Report', from 9 May 2007 has been deposited in the Library. The report is also available at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/planningandbuilding/residentialcarparking

Parking: Fees and Charges

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answer of 21 October 2009,  Official Report, column 1509W, on parking: fees and charges, how much revenue was raised by local authorities from on-street parking  (a) penalty charge notices and  (b) charges in each year since 1997-98.

Barbara Follett: The information on the revenue raised by local authorities in England on penalty charge notice income and other sales, fees and charges from on-street parking from 2005-06 is tabled as follows.
	
		
			  £ million 
			   Penalty  c harge  n otice income  Other sales, fees and charges 
			 2005-06 275.7 286.4 
			 2006-07 297.1 303.0 
			 2007-08 333.5 332.7 
			 2008-09 312.1 351.7 
		
	
	Information for earlier years is not available.

Planning Permission

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether he plans to allocate funding to local authorities in respect of their new duties consequent on the creation of the Infrastructure Planning Commission.

Barbara Follett: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Peterborough (Mr. Jackson) on 28 October 2009,  Official Report, columns 476-77W.

Regeneration: Finance

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which regeneration schemes funded by his Department are delivered through the regional development agencies.

Rosie Winterton: The Department for Communities and Local Government contributes funding to the Regional Development Agencies' Single Budget. However, it is the responsibility of individual RDA boards to determine how this resource is best utilised and which, if any, regeneration programmes are supported within each region.

Regional Government

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what his policy is on elected regional government in England outside London.

Rosie Winterton: The Government have no plans to introduce elected regional government in England outside London.

Urban Areas: Regeneration

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether he plans to provide assistance to the accelerated development zones pilot schemes run by local authorities.

Barbara Follett: There are currently no active accelerated development zones pilot schemes. In December's pre-Budget report, the Government gave an update on work initiated in the April 2009 Budget, saying that it
	will continue to examine the framework that would be needed to implement tax increment financing and consider the primary legislation that would be needed if schemes were to be introduced.
	Accelerated Development Zones are the geographical areas within which tax incremental financing, if introduced, would operate.

Waste Disposal: Fees and Charges

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether any local authorities have reported efficiencies relating to the introduction of wheeled refuse containers in their most recent annual efficiency report to his Department.

Barbara Follett: The Department does not collect information from councils on the value of efficiencies broken down by individual service sectors. Councils are required to report only the total net value of ongoing cash-releasing value for money gains that have impacted since the start of the 2008-09 financial year.
	'

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Apprentices

David Willetts: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many apprenticeship vacancies have been  (a) advertised and  (b) filled through the National Apprenticeship Service online vacancy system in each month since it was established.

Kevin Brennan: The information is as follows:
	 (a) The following table gives the number of new apprenticeship vacancies advertised each month (rounded to the nearest 10):
	
		
			   Number 
			 December 2008 400 
			 January 2009 1,090 
			 February 2009 660 
			 March 2009 990 
			 April 2009 940 
			 May 2009 970 
			 June 2009 1,660 
			 July 2009 1,640 
			 August 2009 1,410 
			 September 2009 3,670 
			 October 2009 3,810 
		
	
	 (b) The number of vacancies filled through the apprenticeship vacancies system each month since launch is as follows (rounded to the nearest 10):
	
		
			   Number 
			 April 2009 90 
			 May 2009 50 
			 June 2009 470 
			 July 2009 470 
			 August 2009 560 
			 September 2009 630 
			 October 2009 720 
		
	
	The figures provided above are the number of candidates who have been recorded as successful in securing an apprenticeship opportunity through apprenticeship vacancies online.
	These figures will significantly underestimate the number of apprentices who found positions through apprenticeship vacancies online. This is because some of the advertisements, particularly for large employers, will lead candidates to the employer's own on-line vacancies and the recording of successful candidates through this route can take longer.

Apprentices: Leeds

John Battle: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  how many apprenticeships there were in Leeds in each year since 1997;
	(2)  how many apprenticeships there were in Leeds, West constituency in each year since 1997.

Kevin Brennan: Information on the number of apprenticeship starts are published in a quarterly statistical first release (SFR). The latest SFR was published on 22 October at:
	http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/statistics/sfroct09/
	Supplementary table 6.1 shows apprenticeship starts by region, local authority and parliamentary constituency from 2003/04, the earliest year for which we have comparable data.

Bankruptcy

Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many bankruptcies of  (a) individuals in each age group resident in and  (b) businesses based in (i) Lewes constituency and (ii) East Sussex there have been in (A) 2008 and (B) 2009 to date.

Ian Lucas: Figures for bankrupts in East Sussex and Lewes constituency in 2008 are shown in table 1.
	
		
			  Table 1: Bankruptcies in 2008 
			   Age Group( 1) 
			  Area( 2)  Under 25  25-34  35-44  45-54  55-64  65+  Unknown 
			 East Sussex 26 146 194 152 64 36 79 
			 Lewes 1 13 25 16 10 3 16 
			 (1) Where the bankrupt has provided a valid date of birth (93.4 per cent. in 2008). (2) Where the bankrupt has provided a valid postcode (96.9 per cent. in 2008). 
		
	
	Self-employed traders may be declared bankrupt (or enter into an individual voluntary arrangement (IVA)), however, registered companies are the subject of liquidation (compulsory liquidation or creditors voluntary liquidation (CVL)).
	Table 2 shows the number of self-employed traders who were declared bankrupt in 2008.
	
		
			  Table 2: Bankruptcies among sole traders in 2008 
			  Area( 1)  Number 
			 East Sussex 138 
			 Lewes 28 
			 (1) Where the bankrupt has provided a valid postcode (96.9 per cent. in 2008). 
		
	
	Regional figures for 2009 are not currently available for bankruptcies, as they are compiled on an annual basis.
	Statistics covering corporate insolvencies are not currently available at a sub-national level within England and Wales.

Business: Capital Investment

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what the level of investment by businesses has been in each of the last 10 years.

Ian Lucas: ONS statistics for the value and volume of business investment in the UK for each year between 1999 and 2008 are shown in the following table:
	
		
			  £ million 
			   Business investment at current prices  Business investment volumes, 2005 prices 
			 1999 115,795 108,894 
			 2000 118,917 113,725 
			 2001 118,334 115,482 
			 2002 118,172 116,825 
			 2003 117,167 115,674 
			 2004 117,736 117,047 
			 2005(1) 122,405 122,405 
			 2006 128,145 128,437 
			 2007 143,097 143,664 
			 2008 147,319 145,617 
			 (1) The 2005 figures exclude the effects of the transfer of BNFL reactors from public corporations to Government in the second quarter of 2005.

Business: West Midlands

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department is taking to encourage business investment in the West Midlands.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 16 December 2009
	As part of its objectives to build a strong economy Government are providing a wide range of support to encourage business investment, both in the West Midlands and across the country as a whole.
	In the PBR we announced our intention to continue to support business until recovery is secured. We are doing this through, for example, the Enterprise Finance Guarantee (EFG) Scheme which has been extended by 12 months. In the West Midlands, as of 9 December, lenders have logged 681 eligible cases with a value of £68.49 million, of which, 643 EFG loans have been offered amounting to £64.41 million. So far 538 EFG loans have been drawn down with a value of £52.48 million. We also announced the extension of empty property relief for a further year, estimated to cover 76 per cent. of empty properties in the West Midlands.
	We are also taking action to ensure the foundations for growth are in place as we emerge from the economic downturn. As a result of Government bringing forward capital expenditure, Advantage West Midlands (AWM) has been able to invest £11.2 million to allow early commencement of work to redevelop Birmingham New Street Station, creating up to 400 new jobs and £1.8 million to accelerate the redevelopment of the former MG Rover site at Longbridge Birmingham, enabling an early start to the relocation of Bourneville college, securing 250 construction jobs. Furthermore, 9 per cent. of orders under the vehicle scrappage scheme have been placed in the West Midlands, which is broadly in line with car ownership in the region.
	On 10 November we launched Partnerships for Growth: A national framework for regional and local economic development, the objectives of which include raising the rate of sustainable economic growth, increasing employment and increasing the economic performance of all English regions. AWM is already contributing to this agenda through, for example, delivering over 12,805 Business Link Health Checks by the end of November 2009 and jointly investing £40 million with EMDA in the £130 million world-class Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC)-a world-class research organisation to support companies and their supply chains in improving their manufacturing competitiveness. It is also providing investment in low carbon technology through its £2.4 million support for the Low Carbon Vehicle Demonstrator project and its £19 million support for the Low Carbon Vehicle Technology Programme, to accelerate the introduction of the next generation ultra low vehicle carbon vehicle.
	AWM provides a range of other measures to help business. It has, for example, between April and September 2009, made grants totalling £736,000 to 15 companies for research and development and grants totalling £3.8 million to 46 companies for business investment. Through its Advantage Transition Fund, which ended in November 2009, it has made loans of more than £10 million. Arrangements are now being put in place for a successor fund, as part of a £44.8 million business support fund which includes:
	An Early Stage Equity fund of £8 million;
	A Growth Equity fund of £9.2 million, matched by the same amount from the private sector, and;
	A Mezzanine fund of £9.2 million, also matched by the private sector.
	Last year AWM was involved in a record number of inward investment successes such as the expansion of Deutsche Bank, which now employs 500 people in the region. This year it has been involved in a further 21 projects creating 645 jobs, with others in the pipeline, which it is hoped will lead to over 900 further jobs.
	UKTI in the West Midlands is supporting companies in a variety of ways to grow their businesses internationally. It has supported over 540 companies so far this year to increase their exports through a variety of supported programmes including Passport to Export, a scheme for novice exporters to help them to export strategically and Gateway to Global Growth, for companies with two to 10 years exporting experience. Using additional funding provided by Advantage West Midlands, UKTI has so far assisted 330 companies to increase exports, which has led to 45 jobs being created and 91 jobs safeguarded.

Departmental Billing

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many and what proportion of invoices submitted to his Department have been paid within 10 days in each month since October 2008; and if he will make a statement.

Patrick McFadden: The following tables show (i) the volume of invoices received by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) since June 2009 and (ii) the percentage of invoices paid within 10 days by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and its predecessors the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) and the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) since November 2008.
	Figures prior to June 2009 and November 2008 respectively are not available.
	
		
			  Month  Volume of invoices received by BIS 
			 June 2009 3,048 
			 July 2009 3,113 
			 August 2009 2,468 
			 September 2009 2,402 
			 October 2009 2,674 
			 November 2009 2,675 
		
	
	
		
			  10 day payment  Percentage 
			  BERR  
			 November 2008 93.10 
			 December 2008 96.9 
			 January 2009 96.7 
			 February 2009 96.2 
			 March 2009 97.02 
			 April 2009 96.30 
			 May 2009 89.7 
			   
			  DIUS  
			 November 2008 89.5 
			 December 2008 96.0 
			 January 2009 91.0 
			 February 2009 96.0 
			 March 2009 95.0 
			 April 2009 76.0 
			 May 2009 81.0 
			   
			  BIS  
			 June 2009 92.3 
			 July 2009 94.9 
			 August 2009 95.0 
			 September 2009 95.5 
			 October 2009 96.5 
			 November 2009 94.8

Departmental Contracts

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills whether his Department has entered into any contracts with Siemens or its subsidiaries since February 2009.

Patrick McFadden: Central records indicate that the following contracts have been entered into with Siemens Enterprise Communications Ltd. since February 2009.
	
		
			£ 
			 March 2009 Specialist Call login Equipment 23,950 
			 April 2009 ISO 27001 Certification and Support 86,500 
			 July 2009 Photocopier provision 2,390

Departmental Publications

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills with reference to the answer of 13 July 2009,  Official Report, columns 190-1W, on business: overseas trade, if he will place in the Library a copy of the 2009 study on its publication.

Ian Lucas: A hard copy of the 2009 study: The Effect of Foreign Mergers and Acquisitions on UK Productivity and Employment will be placed in the Libraries of the House.
	A report of the study is already in the public domain and can be accessed at the following URL:
	https://www.uktradeinvest.gov.uk/ukti/fileDownload/mergers.pdf?cid-438803

Departmental Reviews

Lembit �pik: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills when he expects the review of his Department's agencies to be published.

Patrick McFadden: BIS will review its partner organisations as part of the Government wide review of arm's length bodies announced by the Prime Minister in Putting the Front Line First: smarter government. The result of the review will be published by Budget 2010.

EU Globalisation Fund

James Clappison: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many applications the UK has made to the EU Globalisation Adjustment Fund; how many  (a) have been approved,  (b) have been declined and  (c) are outstanding; and what assessment he has made of the net cost or benefit to the UK of the Fund.

Angela Eagle: I will answer this question as responsibility for the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) falls to my Department.
	On the first part of the question, the UK has not made any applications to the EGF. All current member state applications and their status can be viewed on the European Commission's EGF website at
	http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=582langId=en.
	As part of the Government's response to the economic downturn, we have used the European Social Fund to the same effect as the EGF, investing in a combination of services that have proved to be effective in helping workers and areas affected by restructuring. The EGF cannot duplicate use of other European funding.
	On the second part, approved applications to the Fund have to date been financed from in-year transfers from areas of expected low implementation within the EU Budget, at no immediate impact to member states contributions. Unspent funds in one year, however, are used to finance the following year, thus reducing the amount of funding required from member states in that year. The UK's share of financing applications approved so far in 2009 is abateable, and the net cost to the UK over the 2009 and 2010 period of these applications would be around £2.05 million.
	As to the benefits, the Government will look positively at a specific case where it can be shown that the EGF would add value to national, regional or local measures and initiatives. In particular, it is important to marshal all resources available to help those struggling to find work so that they can move into jobs in growth sectors and be a part of the economic recovery.

Learning and Skills Council for England: Public Relations

Nick Hurd: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what payments the Learning and Skills Council has made to  (a) Fishburn Hedges and  (b) Weber Shandwick Public Affairs in each of the last three years; for what purposes; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the contract under which such payments have been made.

Kevin Brennan: The Department does not hold this level of information. The Learning and Skills Council makes decisions about any work it contracts for specific projects based upon its own business needs. Geoff Russell, the Council's Acting Chief Executive, will write to the hon. Member with further information.
	 Letter from Geoff Russell, dated 8 December 2009:
	I am writing in reply to your recent Parliamentary Question that you asked the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, on what payments the Learning and Skills Council has made to (a) Fishburn Hedges and (b) Weber Shandwick Public Affairs in each of the last three years; at what cost; and for what purpose.
	I can confirm that:
	Fishburn Hedges currently works on two specific projects for the Learning and Skills Council and that this is contracted via the Central Office of Information (COI) on:
	Skills for Life: Get On. The campaign is designed to promote the importance of improving literacy and numeracy skills to adults.
	Skills for employers: incorporating Train to Gain/Skills Pledge/National Skills Academy/Training Quality Standard: The campaign is designed to promote the skills offer to employers in a clear and concise manner:
	Fishburn Hedges is not contracted to work directly for the Learning and Skills Council and any procured projects are managed through COI.
	Fishburn Hedges has worked on Skills for Life: Get On, for the Learning and Skills Council via COI, since April 2008.
	Fishburn Hedges has worked on the employer campaign for the Learning and Skills Council via COI, since July 2009.
	The costs paid by the LSC via COI to Fishburn Hedges are as follows:
	Skills for Life: April 2008 to March 2009-£378,583 ex VAT
	Skills for Life: April 2009 to date-£151,086 ex VAT
	Employers: July 2009 to date-£124,968 ex VAT
	Weber Shandwick Public Affairs, in the past 3 years, has worked on one specific project for the Learning and Skills Council.
	The LSC engaged Weber Shandwick Public Affairs to provide information to and on public affairs and media arenas in relation to the education and skills sector for the LSC's public affairs team. Weber Shandwick did not speak on behalf of the LSC or represent the organisation at events. Their contract concluded in April 2008 and the LSC no longer retains an agency for this purpose.
	The total amount paid by the LSC to Weber Shandwick for the last 3 years was £44,255 ex VAT.
	Weber Shandwick public relations team (i.e. not the Public Affairs team) was also appointed by the Learning and Skills Council via COI between February and November 2009 to secure the engagement of large employers in the direct delivery of Apprenticeships, Skills for Life and Train to Gain to meet targets set.
	The total amount paid by the LSC via COI was £195,200 ex VAT.

Local Government

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills whether he has made an assessment of the merits of extending the Joint Statement on Access to Skills, Advice and Trade Unions to include local government.

Angela Smith: I have been asked to reply.
	The Joint Statement on Access to Skills, Trade Unions and Advice in Government Contracting was launched out across the central Government Departments and executive agencies in July 2008.
	It has always been the Government's aspiration to extend the Joint Statement to other parts of the public services, following evaluation of the impact in central Government and subject to further discussion on the detail of any possible implementation.
	A six-month review was recently completed by the Joint Statement Review Steering Group and is available on the Cabinet Office website at
	http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/media/274789/joint-statement-review.pdf
	The review recorded good progress in implementation and signalled the steering group's support for local government to develop the principles of the Joint Statement in that sector. Local Government Employers have since expressed their support for further extension and are progressing the early stages of implementation through a series of discussion within the sector.

Office of Fair Trading: Internet

David Davies: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what redesigns of websites operated by the Office of Fair Trading have been carried out since 27 June 2007; and what the  (a) cost to the public purse and  (b) date of completion of each such redesign was.

Patrick McFadden: The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is currently undertaking a redesign and restructure of its website. Research conducted on its primary target audience including businesses, corporate lawyers and local authority trading standards services, found that the current structure of the OFT website is not meeting their requirements. The project costs so far have been £28,000 for qualitative research, with a further £86,000 committed to conduct user journey testing and design development work. The project is due for completion by the end of March 2010.
	A project is also under way on the Consumer Direct website (which is run by the OFT) which will enhance the functionality of the site and guide consumers more easily to the information they need by the provision of video help guides. The cost of the research so far has been £20,000 and the total projected project cost is £70,000. The project is due for completion by the end of March 2010.

Royal Mail: Disciplinary Proceedings

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many postal workers were disciplined for failing to attempt to deliver parcels and delivering 'sorry you were out' slips instead in each of the last three years; what discussions he has had with representatives of Royal Mail on the matter; and if he will make a statement.

Patrick McFadden: Disciplining of its staff by Royal Mail for any operational failings is a matter for the company's management. I have therefore asked the Chief Executive of Royal Mail, Adam Crozier, to provide the hon. Lady with a reply to her question.
	A copy of his reply will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Trade Agreements: Colombia

Tom Watson: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent representations he has received on the negotiation of a free trade agreement between the EU and Colombia.

Ian Lucas: In recent months, this Department has received representations from industry, NGOs, unions, Members of the UK and European Parliaments, and members of the public on the EU-Andean nations multi-party free trade agreement negotiations. These representations have covered market access issues and the human rights situation in Colombia.
	Colleagues in other Departments have been receiving similar representations.

UK Trade and Investment: Training

Graham Stuart: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many  (a) away days and  (b) conferences that took place outside UK Trade and Investment's (UKTI) buildings attended by civil servants in UKTI there have been since 2005; and what the cost was of each.

Ian Lucas: UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) does not directly employ staff but draws on resource from its two parent Departments, the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). UKTI has offices in 98 different countries, the nine English regions, London and Glasgow.
	While UKTI holds aggregate figures relating to staff training, it does not hold records centrally on the number or cost of  (a) away days, or  (b) conferences that took place outside UKTI's buildings that were attended by civil servants.
	To provide this information would require obtaining details from each location and therefore can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Unemployment: Kent

Damian Green: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many and what proportion of 16 to 24 year olds were not in education, employment or training in  (a) Ashford constituency and  (b) Kent in each of the last eight quarters.

Kevin Brennan: The Labour Force Survey sample is not large enough to provide quarterly estimates for small geographies such as local authority areas. We are able to give annual estimates for Kent from the Annual Population Survey, which has a larger sample, but this is not large enough to produce estimates at constituency level.
	The following table gives the number and proportion of people aged(1) 16 to 24 not in education, employment or training in Kent from 2000 to 2008.
	Please note that these estimates are subject to large sampling variability and should therefore be treated with caution and viewed in conjunction with their Confidence Interval(2) (CIs), which indicate how accurate an estimate is. For example, a CI of+/- 4.2 percentage points (pp) means that the true value is between 4.2pp above the estimate and 4.2pp below the estimate.
	(1) Age used is the respondents academic age, which is defined as their age at the preceding 31 August.
	(2) Those given are 95 per cent. confidence intervals.
	
		
			  People aged 16 to 24 not in education, employment or training in Kent 
			   16 to 24-year-olds NEET  
			   Number  Percentage  Confidence intervals around percentages 
			 2000 13,000 11 3.1 
			 2001 17,000 14 3.3 
			 2002 18,000 13 3.2 
			 2003 18,000 15 3.6 
			 2004 16,000 12 2.2 
			 2005 19,000 13 2.2 
			 2006 23,000 16 3.6 
			 2007 24,000 17 3.8 
			 2008 25,000 17 4.0 
			 Base: 16 to 24-year-olds in Kent.   Note:  The ALALFS covers the period from March of the given year, to the following February.   Source:  2000 to 2003 Annual Local Area Labour Force Survey (ALALFS), 2004 to 2008 Annual population Survey.

Wales

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how much his Department has spent in Wales in each financial year since 1997.

Patrick McFadden: holding answer 14 December 2009
	Country and regional analysis spending data for all Government Departments is available in the PESA CRA table on the HM Treasury website covering financial years 2003-04 to 2010-11. The latest data were collected prior to the announcement of the creation of BIS and so figures are currently presented against BERR and DIUS. Figures for BIS will be published in spring 2010 and earlier editions cover previous years and preceding Departments.

Yorkshire Forward and One North East: Public Appointments

Philip Davies: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what provision is made in the proposed contracts of the new Chairman of  (a) Yorkshire Forward and  (b) One North East for circumstances where the body ceases to exist before the end of the contract.

Rosie Winterton: The terms and conditions of all RDA board members including chairs states that:
	should the Agency be dissolved, restructured or wound up during the period of appointment, the appointment would also cease with effect from that dissolution or such other date as is specified in any relevant legislation.
	This clause will also be included in the contracts for the new chairs of Yorkshire Forward and One North East.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Departmental Air Travel

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what his Department's policy is on the accumulation and use of air miles by his Department's personnel flying at public expense.

Michael Foster: Staff employed by the Department for International Development (DFID) are not permitted to use air miles for their personal benefit. Any breach of these rules may result in dismissal.
	Air miles accumulated in the course of an employee's business, may however be used to fund official travel.

Departmental Information and Communications Technology

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development on what pay band his Department's Chief Information Officer (CIO) is employed; whether the CIO is employed on a fixed-term or permanent contract; and what the size is of the budget for which the CIO is responsible in the period 2009-10.

Douglas Alexander: The role of the chief information officer (CIO) in the Department for International Development (DFID) is discharged by the director of business solutions division. The current post holder is employed on a permanent contract in the senior civil service pay band 2. The director of business solutions is responsible for an administration budget of £24.9 million in 2009-10.

Departmental Pay

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many  (a) year end and  (b) in-year bonuses were paid to officials in his Department in each of the last three years; and how much was paid in such bonuses in each such year.

Douglas Alexander: I refer the right hon. Gentleman to the answer of 16 December 2009,  Official Report, column 1341W, on departmental pay.

Departmental Training

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many  (a) away days and  (b) conferences that took place outside his Department's building attended by civil servants in his Department there have been since 2005; and what the cost was of each.

Michael Foster: This information cannot be provided without incurring disproportionate cost.

Departmental Written Questions

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many and what percentage of Parliamentary Questions tabled for written answer by his Department on a named day in session 2008-09 received a substantive answer on that day.

Michael Foster: The number and percentage of named day parliamentary questions tabled for answer by the Department for International Development (DFID) which were answered on the day named are provided in the table.
	
		
			  Month  Number answered on named day  Percentage answered on named day 
			 December 2008 4 100 
			 January 2009 15 94 
			 February 2009 16 100 
			 March 2009 52 97 
			 April 2009 14 94 
			 May 2009 9 90 
			 June 2009 16 95 
			 July 2009 15 94 
			 August 2009 0 n/a 
			 September 2009 9 90 
			 October 2009 19 80 
			 November 2009 22 92 
		
	
	Central guidance on answering parliamentary questions is now available in the Guide to Parliamentary Work, at
	http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/parliamentary-clerk-guide.aspx
	In the response to the Procedure Committee Report on written parliamentary questions, the Government accepted the Committee's recommendation that Departments be required to provide the Procedure Committee with sessional statistics in a standard format on the time taken to respond to written parliamentary questions, accompanied by an explanatory memorandum setting out any factors affecting their performance. This will be taken forward as soon as possible.

Eritrea: Overseas Aid

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 21 October 2009,  Official Report, column 497, on Eritrea: overseas aid, what steps his Department is taking to increase the access of non-governmental organisations to assist in the development of Eritrea.

Gareth Thomas: The Government of Eritrea do not consider non-government organisations to have a major role to play in either the development of the country or in addressing relief needs.
	The UK Government will continue to press Government of Eritrea officials at every available opportunity to allow aid agencies to operate freely and without constraint for the good of the Eritrean people.

Eritrea: Overseas Aid

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what his latest assessment is of the food security situation in Eritrea; what steps his Department is taking in this regard; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: The next three months will be critical for many areas across Eritrea. Poor rainfall, prolonged dry spells and high cereal prices have continued to impact on the food security of large numbers of people across the country. Early crop estimates indicate a decline in cereal production, compared to previously good harvests in 2007 and 2008. Acute malnutrition rates among children under-five continue to rise.
	The Government of Eritrea has officially stated that there will be no hunger or food shortages in 2010. They have drawn up plans to meet any food shortfalls nationwide if cases arise.
	The Department for International Development (DFID) will continue to monitor the situation closely alongside our relief partners in Eritrea.

Overseas Aid

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much of his Department's aid budget has been allocated to each recipient country in  (a) 2007-08,  (b) 2008-09 and  (c) 2009-10; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Foster: The Department for International Development's (DFID's) past and future spending allocations are laid out in our Annual Reports which are available at:
	http://www.dfid.gov.uk/About-DFID/Finance-and-performance/Annual-report/

Palestinians: Overseas Aid

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 30 November 2009,  Official Report, column 435W, on Gaza: reconstruction, what reasons the Government of Israel has given for preventing the entry into Gaza of building materials for reconstruction funded by his Department; and what his policy is on securing entry for such materials.

Michael Foster: There are two main reasons given by the Government of Israel for preventing entry of reconstruction materials into Gaza.
	Firstly, Israel has expressed concerns that materials such as steel pipes or cement could be misused or misappropriated by Hamas and other organisations in Gaza to build weapons or defensive structures. We recognise that Israel has legitimate security concerns and that there is a risk some items could have a dual use. However, we believe with robust monitoring it is possible to address these concerns. The United Nations and other agencies have had extensive discussions with the Government of Israel over practical safeguards against diversion or misuse. Moreover, many items required to repair damaged homes and other infrastructure are not dual-use-such as plastic piping and glass. We have not received specific explanations from Israel of why the import of such items has been blocked or delayed.
	Secondly, Israeli Ministers have noted that the continuing detention of Gilad Shalit and Hamas's refusal to renounce violence creates a wider political context for restrictions on movement of people and goods into and out of Gaza. The UK Government continue to call for the immediate, unconditional release of Gilad Shalit and for Hamas to renounce violence and recognise Israel's right to exist in peace and security. We do not accept, however, that access for humanitarian aid and aid workers should be linked to such considerations, nor that the import of materials needed to rebuild houses, schools, medical facilities and other critical infrastructure should be contingent on Hamas's actions.

Palestinians: Overseas Aid

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 30 November 2009,  Official Report, column 435W, on Gaza: reconstruction, whether his Department is considering alternative proposals to expedite the reconstruction of homes in Gaza; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Foster: With the onset of winter, the reconstruction or repair to houses of an estimated 60,000 families in Gaza has been identified by the United Nations as a humanitarian priority. However, the continuing restrictions imposed by the Government of Israel on access for construction materials (including cement, steel reinforcement bars, and glass) have effectively put these reconstruction efforts on hold. The UK Government continue to lobby the Government of Israel for the unrestricted import of these, and other, materials.
	At the same time, the Department for International Development (DFID) will consider favourably any alternative construction proposals which are practical, cost-effective, and meet the needs of the beneficiary population.

Palestinians: Utilities

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 30 November 2009,  Official Report, column 436W, on Gaza: utilities, what remedial action his Department has taken to address the contamination of water supplies in Gaza; and what the Government's policy is on the supply of clean water to Gaza.

Michael Foster: The Department for International Development (DFID) is supporting a number of projects to increase the supply of clean water in Gaza. DFID is supporting the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) in coordinating the international response on water and sanitation. We are also providing funding to Oxfam and Action Against Hunger to supply drinking water to vulnerable communities and carry out emergency rehabilitation of water infrastructure. Projects funded by DFID have helped improve access to water for over 335,000 people.
	Restrictions placed on materials entering Gaza have limited the capacity to treat contaminated water or run desalination plants. We continue to lobby the Israeli Government to allow into Gaza the essential materials required to repair Gaza's water and sanitation infrastructure.

Security

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many UK private military and security companies have been awarded contracts by his Department to carry out work in  (a) Afghanistan,  (b) Iraq,  (c) Sudan,  (d) Israel,  (e) Somalia,  (f) Pakistan,  (g) Colombia,  (h) Ethiopia and  (i) Eritrea in (i) 2005, (ii) 2006, (iii) 2007, (iv) 2008, (v) 2009 and (vi) future years; and what the monetary value is of each contract.

Douglas Alexander: The Department for International Development (DFID) has not awarded any contracts to UK private military or security companies to carry out work in the listed countries during the periods stated.

Security

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many third sector agencies operating in  (a) Afghanistan and  (b) Iraq and receiving government funding are employing private military and security companies.

Douglas Alexander: None of the NGOs receiving funding through the Department for International Development's (DFID) bilateral programmes in Afghanistan and Iraq employ either private military or security companies.

Sri Lanka: Internally Displaced Persons

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment has been made of the Sri Lankan government's progress in resettling internally displaced persons in the north of the country; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Foster: The United Nations reported that as of the 10 December 2009 approximately 160,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) have been released from the closed camps in Sri Lanka. Of this number, around 131,000 people have been returned to their districts of origin and 29,000 people are either living with host families or in institutions. This represents progress by the Government of Sri Lanka towards their own target of returning 80 per cent. of the IDP population from the camps to their areas of origin by the end of 2009.
	However, we are concerned that the conditions for returning IDPs are often poor and humanitarian access for UN agencies and NGOs to assist this population remains restricted. The UK Government continue to press the Government of Sri Lanka for humanitarian access to all returning IDPs as a priority. I refer the hon. Gentleman to my written ministerial statement to the House on 24 November 2009,  Official Report, columns 61-63WS.

HEALTH

Ambulance Services: Standards

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what clinical evidence was used to establish the target emergency response time for  (a) Category A patients at eight minutes and  (b) Category B patients at 19 minutes; and what research his Department has (i) commissioned and (ii) evaluated on the effectiveness of those response times.

Mike O'Brien: The eight minute response time standard for Category A (immediately life-threatening) calls is based on clinical evidence that shows that within the first 10 minutes of a sudden cardiac arrest, a patient's survival rate improves 10 per cent. for every minute that is saved by getting the defibrillator to the patient (Eisenberg, Horwood and Cummins 1990). Category B offers a fast response for those patients presenting conditions that are serious but not immediately life-threatening.
	In 2006, The Department commissioned an evaluation on ambulance response time targets from the University of Sheffield titled 'The costs and benefits of changing ambulance service response time performance standards'.

Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  when he was first informed of the high standardised mortality rates at Basildon and Thurrock NHS Foundation Trust; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many reports he has received of high standardised mortality rates in the last 12 months; and to which hospitals such reports related.

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what date his Department was first informed of the high standardised mortality rates at Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

Mike O'Brien: Hospital Standardised Mortality Rates have been published on the NHS Choices website since April 2009 and are normally updated monthly. However, it can take several months to verify and check the raw data before they can be used reliably and placed on the website.
	In addition, the Care Quality Commission alerts individual national health statistics organisations to high specialty mortality ratios and they can then pursue any issue arising with the NHS organisation concerned until it is satisfactorily resolved. The Department does not routinely receive reports of high specialty mortality ratios on open cases at individual trusts.
	My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State made an oral statement about Basildon and Thurrock NHS Foundation Trust in the House on 30 November 2009,  Official Report, column 855.

Breast Cancer

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many hospital admissions there were  (a) in total and  (b) in each (i) primary care trust area of responsibility and (ii) cancer network area of responsibility where a diagnosis of breast cancer was recorded in the Hospital Episodes Statistics Database in each of the last five years.

Ann Keen: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave him on 26 November 2009,  Official Report, column 343W.

Burns: Merseyside

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he expects to receive any further recommendations or reports from the Northern Burn Care review relating to the provision of burn care services in Merseyside; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: On 11 November 2009 NHS North West published a statement concluding that there was no compelling evidence to demonstrate that the new supra regional service would improve upon existing outcomes for patients with the most severe burns. They did, however, agree to re-examine proposals if there was evidence to demonstrate that supra regional centres would provide significantly improved outcomes and sustainable services for the population of Northern England, North Wales and Isle of Man.
	In the meantime, the Northern Burn Care Network continues to work with all specialist burn care services across Northern England, North Wales and Isle of Man to improve the quality of services across the whole patient pathway and to meet the National Burn Care Standards.

Cancer: Health Services

Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent per head on cancer treatment and services in  (a) England,  (b) the South West Strategic Health Authority and  (c) each primary care trust within the South West Strategic Health Authority in each financial year from 1997-98 to 2008-09.

Ann Keen: The information is not available in the format requested.
	The following table shows an estimate of the gross expenditure on cancers and tumours per head of population for the last five available financial years for England. This information was first collected in 2003-04 and is not available for any previous years.
	
		
			  Estimated gross expenditure on cancer and tumours (all types) at England level from 2003-04 to 2007-08 
			  Financial year  £ per head of population 
			 2003-04 68.85 
			 2004-05 76.73 
			 2005-06 87.50 
			 2006-07 86.23 
			 2007-08 97.92 
			  Source: Department of Health Resource Accounts 
		
	
	The following table shows an estimate of the gross expenditure on cancers and tumours per head of population for the same period for South West Strategic Health Authority (SHA) and those primary care trusts (PCTs) serving the South West SHA area.
	
		
			  Estimated gross expenditure on cancer and tumours (all types) from 2003-04 to 2007-08 for the South West SHA and those PCTs within the South West SHA area 
			  £ per head of unified weighted population 
			  National health service organisation  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			 South West SHA 77.47 84.52 96.38 83.21 103.42 
			 Bath and North East Somerset PCT 92.11 99.42 97.25 87.08 132.35 
			 Bournemouth and Poole Teaching PCT 89.87 79.23 88.01 116.72 113.67 
			 Bristol Teaching PCT 82.54 83.46 87.32 86.87 97.47 
			 Cornwall and Isles of Scilly PCT 75.47 88.40 99.04 68.39 94.73 
			 Devon PCT 78.19 85.66 105.94 78.71 114.78 
			 Dorset PCT 78.87 82.53 91.80 79.12 104.84 
			 Gloucestershire PCT 85.10 97.76 109.79 78.55 106.15 
			 North Somerset PCT 71.75 82.51 110.19 98.14 107.18 
			 Plymouth Teaching PCT 69.40 75.24 87.25 78.65 78.70 
			 Somerset PCT 71.47 85.99 89.95 82.62 102.33 
			 South Gloucestershire PCT 72.39 58.80 98.33 75.15 95.43 
			 Swindon PCT 55.97 67.60 74.83 83.86 86.98 
			 Torbay Care Trust 91.28 110.18 105.62 104.01 112.63 
			 Wiltshire PCT 66.92 76.47 91.20 79.86 98.75 
			  Notes: 1. PCT-level Figures for 2003-04 are net expenditure per head of unified weighted population. PCT-level figures for 2004-05 onwards are net expenditure per head of unified weighted population, adjusted to add back expenditure from sources outside the national health service and to deduct expenditure on other PCT's populations incurred through lead commissioning arrangements. 2. SHA-level expenditure per head is calculated using the combined expenditure and population figures of each PCT within the SHA area.  Source: Department of Health Resource Accounts 
		
	
	The figures in these tables include primary prescribing but exclude General Medical Services and Personal Medical Services expenditure and any prevention-related expenditure, such as screening.

Care Quality Commission: Expenditure

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department has spent on the Care Quality Commission since the Commission's formation.

Mike O'Brien: The Care Quality Commission was formally established on 1 October 2008. The Commission published its report and accounts for the period 1 October 2008 to 30 March 2009 in July 2009.
	The Commission commenced its regulatory responsibilities on 1 April 2009. The agreed revenue funding for the Commission from the Department in the 2009-10 financial year is £137.4 million, of which, £38.3 million is funding to support the transition from the previous regulators. The agreed capital funding for the Commission from the Department for 2009-10 is £17.4 million.

Carers

Don Touhig: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent estimate has been made of the number of carers in England.

Phil Hope: The main source of information that the Department uses for the number of carers is the 2001 Census.
	Nomis, a web-based database, run by the University of Durham on behalf of the Office for National Statistics, shows that there were 4.85 million carers in England in 2001.

Dental Services: Learning Disability

Oliver Letwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people with learning disabilities had all their teeth removed in 2009; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: This information is not held centrally.

Departmental Billing

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and what proportion of invoices submitted to his Department have been paid within 10 days in each month since October 2008; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Hope: The quantity and proportion of invoices paid within 10 days of receipt to commercial suppliers are shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Month  Quantity of invoices paid within 10 days to commercial suppliers  Proportion of invoices paid within 10 days to commercial suppliers 
			 October 2008 15,403 98.11 
			 November 2008 13,384 98.14 
			 December 2008 14,202 95.69 
			 January 2009 15,830 97.02 
			 February 2009 12,777 78.19 
			 March 2009 16,949 95.56 
			 April 2009 16,250 96.44 
			 May 2009 15,851 95.77 
			 June 2009 18,692 96.39 
			 July 2009 18,174 97.36 
			 August 2009 15,902 97.14 
			 September 2009 18,281 97.98 
			 October 2009 17,142 96.66 
			 November 2009 17,504 94.11 
			  Note: Payment performance was lower in February 2009 due to the short term impact on Welfare Foods and Healthy Start payments caused by the introduction of a new web based claims system. This system was introduced to bring significant benefits to some of the smaller suppliers who will receive their payments more promptly and more regularly. This new system also provides higher security and validation checks.

Departmental Conferences

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) away days and  (b) conferences that took place outside his Department's building attended by civil servants in his Department there have been since 2005; and what the cost was of each.

Phil Hope: The Department is strongly committed to developing its staff and equipping them with the skills, knowledge and expertise they need to carry out their work. Away days and conferences make a significant contribution to such development.
	Away days and conferences are typically arranged and booked by individual teams in the Department. No central records of these events are kept and to collect this information would incur disproportionate costs.

Departmental Co-ordination

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what occasions on  (a) Monday 7 December and  (b) Tuesday 8 December 2009 he had discussions with Ministers of the Department for Work and Pensions.

Phil Hope: Policy discussions between Ministers did not take place on either of the two dates.

Departmental Information and Communications Technology

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what pay band his Department's Chief Information Officer (CIO) is employed; whether the CIO is employed on a fixed-term or permanent contract; and what the size is of the budget for which the CIO is responsible in the period 2009-10.

Phil Hope: Christine Connelly (Director General and Chief Information Officer), is in senior civil service payband 3, and was employed on a permanent civil service contract. The overall budget for which the Chief Information Officer is responsible is, in total, £1,485.321 million in 2009-10. This includes those costs of the National Programme for Information Technology (NPfTT) in the national health service which are expected to be incurred in the 2009-10 financial year.

Departmental Internet

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what websites that are within his Department's responsibility.

Mike O'Brien: It is unclear what meaning the hon. Member attaches to the word responsibility in this context.
	The Department contributes directly or indirectly through funds to the following websites, although some are run by other organisations.
	www.dh.gov.uk
	www.nhs.uk
	www.chre.org.uk
	www.gscc.org.uk
	www.hpa.org.uk
	www.hfea.gov.uk
	www.hta.gov.uk
	www.mhra.gov.uk
	www.monitor-nhsft.gov.uk
	www.cqc.org.uk/
	In addition, the Department is also responsible for reviewing, converging and closing the following sites, as part of its commitment to Cabinet Office under Transformational Government:
	www.info.doh.gov.uk/doh/finman.nsf
	www.immunisation.nhs.uk
	www.performance.doh.gov.uk
	www.nhs-procure21.gov.uk
	www.18weeks.nhs.uk
	www.clean-safe-care.nhs.uk
	www.mosaic.nhs.uk
	www.valuingpeople.gov.uk
	www.info.doh.gov.uk/cmo/cmosur01.nsf/frmcmosurvey
	www.hgc.gov.uk
	www.irpanel.org.uk
	www.condomessentialwear.co.uk
	www.breastfeeding.nhs.uk
	www.5aday.nhs.uk
	www.immunisation.nhs.uk
	www.healthystart.nhs.uk
	www.nhsidentity.nhs.uk
	www.photolibrary.nhs.uk
	www.pasa.nhs.uk
	www.talktofrank.com
	www.info.doh.gov.uk/doh/iar.nsf?open
	www.appointments.org.uk
	www.info.doh.gov.uk/nhsfactsheets.nsf
	www.asthmar-d.org.uk
	www.mdx.ac.uk/www/drugsmisuse/
	www.disco.port.ac.uk/ictriwww.rddirect.org.uk
	www.info.doh.gov.uk/doh/rd2policy.nsf
	www.ct-toolkit.ac.uk
	www.east-of-england-rdsu.org.uk
	www.healthtechnologyportal.org.uk
	www.rdsu.org.uk
	www.rdinfo.org.uk
	www.rdlearning.org.uk
	www.socialworkandcare.co.uk
	www.nhsplus.nhs.uk
	www.smokefreeengland.co.uk
	www.healthystart.nhs.uk
	www.hsru.co.uk
	www.info.doh.gov.uk/sar/cmopatie.nsf
	www.info.doh.gov.uk/nhs/cdoweb.nsf/Main?OpenFrameset
	www.buginvestigators.co.uk
	www.arsac.org.uk
	www.comare.org.uk
	www.multites.com/dhthesaurus
	www.info.doh.gov.uk/Sect64/S64users.nsf
	www.shape.dh.gov.uk
	www.adb.dh.gov.uk
	www.nibsc.ac.uk
	www.expertpatients.nhs.uk
	www.pharmacopoeia.org.uk
	www.nhscommslink.nhs.uk
	www.sexualhealthprofessional.org.uk
	www.info.doh.gov.uk/cfs/cfsusers.nsf/
	www.info.doh.gov.uk/Carers/Carersweb.Nsf/vwWebHome
	www.info.doh.gov.uk/nhs/cdoweb.nsf/Main?OpenFrameset
	www.endoflifecare.nhs.uk
	www.connectingforhealth.nhs.uk

Departmental Public Expenditure

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to paragraph 6.24, page 103 of the pre-Budget report, Cm 7747, what his Department's planned  (a) total,  (b) resource,  (c) capital and  (d) near-cash resource expenditure is in each year until 2012-13.

Mike O'Brien: The Government have not done a spending review at this stage, and therefore, the specific numbers requested in the question are not available.

Dietary Supplements: Health Hazards

Lembit �pik: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what  (a) impact assessment and  (b) economic impact assessment has been conducted in respect of the proposed restriction of sale of food supplements above a certain potency; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: An initial impact assessment on the setting of minimum and maximum levels of vitamins and minerals in food supplements was developed by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) in early 2007 with advice from better regulation teams at the FSA and Cabinet Office in order to obtain the views of stakeholders at an early stage and to inform the UK's negotiating position. The agency continues to gather information for, and develop, the impact assessment in consultation with industry.
	A European Commission-sponsored analysis of the economic, social and environmental impact of the policy options for the establishment of maximum levels for vitamins and minerals in food supplements was undertaken in 2008. The United Kingdom food supplements industry provided relevant data. The European Commission has indicated that this impact assessment will accompany its proposals on maximum levels when they are issued.
	The FSA will make a detailed assessment of the likely impact of setting maximum levels when the levels are set out in formal proposals. The FSA will carry out a full public consultation on the Commission's proposals and its draft impact assessment at that time.

Disabled: Social Security Benefits

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many respondees to the Social Care Green Paper  (a) supported and  (b) opposed changes to attendance allowance and disability living allowance.

Phil Hope: The public consultation on the Green Paper Shaping the Future of Care Together, received around 29,000 responses overall. Analysis of all the responses is currently under way, and it would be misleading to comment or provide data on the results until this is analysis is fully completed. The Government will be publishing an analysis of the consultation early this year.

Disabled: Social Security Benefits

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the proportion of  (a) attendance allowance and  (b) disability living allowance which is typically spent on (i) activities of daily living and (ii) instrumental activities of daily living.

Phil Hope: No such estimate has been made, and that information is not readily available.

Disabled: Social Security Benefits

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on 8 December 2009,  Official Report, column 206, what plans the Government has to disburse  (a) attendance allowance and disability living allowance and  (b) a cash equivalent through local authorities.

Phil Hope: If disability benefits for older people are reformed as part of the National Care Service, those receiving the affected benefits at the time of reform would continue to receive the same level of cash support. We will give more details about the National Care Service offer in our White Paper later this year.

Disabled: Social Security Benefits

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  pursuant to the contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on 8 December 2009,  Official Report, column 154, whether an equivalent level of support includes non-care services currently purchased by money made available through attendance allowance or disability living allowance; and whether an assessment for cash disbursement includes non-care services currently purchased by money made available through these allowances;
	(2)  whether he plans to limit the services on which people may spend their entitlement under the Government's proposals for the care system.

Phil Hope: We have not taken any decisions on whether some disability benefits for older people will be reformed in the new care and support system. If disability benefits for older people are reformed as part of the National Care Service, those receiving the affected benefits at the time of reform would continue to receive the same level of cash support. We also know that the flexibility of disability benefits is valued by those who receive them, and we want to ensure that those in receipt of affected benefits at the time of reform retain control over how they spend their cash support.
	Under the new care and support system, once people are assessed they will get a personal budget rather than being told what services they should receive and will receive support in using this resource. Some people will choose to take their budget as cash, and pay for everything directly themselves. Others will prefer to let someone else manage the funding on their behalf-either someone from the local authority or a family member or friend. People will have the control to get the services they want.
	We will give more details about the National Care Service offer in our White Paper later this year.

Disabled: Social Security Benefits

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether people currently eligible for  (a) attendance allowance and  (b) disability living allowance would receive (i) an equivalent level of support, (ii) an equivalent cash payment and (iii) an equivalent cash payment in addition to any other funds received under the proposals in the Government's Social Care Green Paper.

Phil Hope: As we said in the Green Paper, if we were to draw some disability benefits for older people into the new National Care Service, we would create a new offer for individuals with care needs. This support would be delivered in line with the best principles of the current benefits system: a universal entitlement, with flexible methods of payment, and a focus on lower-level needs and prevention. It is our aim to deliver a better joined-up service, with people only needing one assessment of their needs to gain access to a whole range of care and support services. We will give more details about the National Care Service offer in our White Paper later this year.

Disabled: Social Security Benefits

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what  (a) assessment he has made of and  (b) modelling his Department has undertaken on the relationship between the group that currently receives (i) attendance allowance and (ii) disability living allowance and groups that would receive support under the Government's proposed reform for the social care system.

Phil Hope: We have not taken any decisions on whether some benefits for older people will be reformed in the new care and support system. If we do decide to integrate some benefits for older people into the new care and support system, we will provide further details in our White Paper later this year.
	However, we said in our Green Paper Shaping the Future of Care and Support Together that we think we should create a new and better care and support system, looking at how we can make the best use of public money to provide a joined-up, consistent and fair care and support system. This would enable the greatest public support to go to those who will benefit from it most, both people who have developed low levels of need and people with high levels of need, and would ensure a fair and consistent allocation of resources. We want to make sure that people with low to moderate needs continue to get the support they need to live independently, building on the role that disability benefits play and considering how this might be best achieved in a new care and support system.
	The Personal Social Services Research Unit, which is part of the London School of Economics, has been commissioned by the Department to conduct detailed financial modelling of the new care and support system. Their methodology and interim report was published in July on their website at: www.pssru.ac.uk/pdf/dp2644.pdf, and in the impact assessment published alongside the Green Paper. This work is ongoing.

Disabled: Social Security Benefits

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of people who are eligible for  (a) attendance allowance and  (b) disability living allowance who would cease to receive support under each proposal set out in the Green Paper on Social Care.

Phil Hope: We have not taken any decisions on whether some benefits for older people will be reformed in the new care and support system. If disability benefits for older people are reformed as part of the National Care Service, those receiving the affected benefits at the time of reform would continue to receive the same level of cash support. We will give more details about the National Care Service offer in our White Paper later this year.

Health Professions: Complaints

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department holds information on complaints made to the General Medical Council against medical practitioners.

Ann Keen: The Department does not hold information on complaints made to the General Medical Council (which is an independent regulatory body) against medical practitioners. Information relating to the GMC's fitness to practice function is available from the GMC, a summary of which is published in their annual report, which is available on their website at:
	http://www.gmc-uk.org/search.asp?client=gmc_frontendsite =gmc_collectionoutput=xml_no_dtdproxystylesheet=gmc_ frontendie=UTF-8q=annual%2Breport%2B2008 partialfields=btnG=Google+Searchnum=10getfields= descriptionstart=0-as_sitesearch=http://www.gmc-uk.org/concernsfilter=0txtKeywords=annual%Breport%2B2008cbo Section=cboUserType=
	or by writing to them at GMC, Regent's Place, 350 Euston Road, London NW1 3JN.

Health: Learning Disability

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 26 November 2009,  Official Report, column 354W, on health: learning disabilities, when he plans to publish the independent survey of activity on the directed enhanced service of health checks for those with learning disabilities.

Phil Hope: There are currently no plans to publish the results of the independent survey.

Hospital Beds

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many bed days at Ashford and St Peters NHS Trust were taken by patients who had already been cleared for discharge in each of the last three years.

Mike O'Brien: The Care Quality Commission (CQC), formerly the Healthcare Commission, reports in detail on delayed transfers of care at national health service trusts each year, with the exception of 2007-08, when this was not used as a indicator. CQC information about delayed transfers of care for Ashford and St. Peter's NHS Trust for 2006-07 and 2008-09 can be found at:
	 2006-07
	http://2007ratings.healthcarecommission.org.uk/healthcareproviders/searchforhealthcareproviders.cfm/widCalll/customWidgets.content_view_l/cit_id/11101/element/ET_AS_T004
	 2008-09
	http://2009ratings.cqc.org.uk/findcareservices/informationabouthealthcareservices/overallperformance/searchfororganisation.cfm?widCalll=customWidgets.content_view_ lcit_id=RTKelement=1114parentelement=ET

Hospitals: Complaints

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many complaints the Care Quality Commission has received regarding the cleanliness and hygiene of acute hospitals since its inception.

Mike O'Brien: The Care Quality Commission does not have a role in following up individual complaints. The Commission has advised us that when it does receive such complaints, it passes them on to the relevant body but it does not record the number of such complaints received.

Kidneys: Injuries

Richard Benyon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he plans to take in response to each of the eight principal recommendations made in the recently published National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death report on acute kidney injury.

Ann Keen: Dr. Donal O'Donoghue, National Clinical Director for Kidney Care, has written to the chief executive of the National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death further to the report on acute kidney injury. The letter outlines a series of actions that the Department, working with a range of national health service, professional, and patients' organisations will oversee at the national level to improve the prevention, detection and management of acute kidney injury (acute renal failure).
	A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library.

Muscular Dystrophy: Greater London

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what steps he is taking to ensure that patients with muscular dystrophy in London have access to NHS-funded muscular dystrophy care advisers; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what discussions he has had with the London Specialised Commissioning Group on a review of neuromuscular services in London; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: No discussions have been held with the London Specialised Commissioning Group on a review of neuromuscular services in that region.
	It is the responsibility of primary care trusts to ensure the provision of services for neuromuscular dystrophy patients in that region, including access to national health service funded muscular dystrophy care advisers.

NHS: Buildings

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the risk-adjusted backlog maintenance cost for the NHS in  (a) England and  (b) each strategic health authority has been in each year since 1997; and what the maintenance backlog to reach estate code condition B was in (i) England and (ii) each strategic health authority in each such year.

Phil Hope: The information held by the Department is shown in the following tables.
	National health service organisations are responsible for the provision and maintenance of facilities to support the delivery of high quality clinical services. Therefore, the NHS will locally prioritise investment to reduce backlog maintenance based on risk assessment, reconfiguration planning and available resources. The majority of backlog maintenance relates to low priority work, which trusts will undertake through maintenance programmes. Where higher risks are present, work will be undertaken as a priority. While levels of backlog maintenance vary across the NHS, it is estimated that around 75 per cent. of the total costs to eradicate backlog maintenance are concentrated in 20 per cent. of organisations.
	The Department collects data on backlog maintenance and risk adjusted backlog maintenance annually from NHS trusts through its Estates Returns Information Collection (ERIC). The data provided are not amended centrally and the responsibility for its accuracy lies with the contributing NHS organisations.
	The collection of data on risk-adjusted backlog maintenance was first introduced in 2004-05 and therefore information prior to that reporting year is not available centrally. The 28 strategic health authorities were created in 2002-03 and re-organised in 2006-07 into 10.
	
		
			  Risk-adjusted backlog maintenance cost for the NHS in England 
			  National total  Risk adjusted backlog maintenance (£ million) 
			 2004-05 1,342 
			 2005-06 1,744 
			 2006-07 1,542 
			 2007-08 1,854 
			 2008-09 1,783 
		
	
	
		
			  Risk-adjusted backlog maintenance cost for the NHS at each strategic health authority 
			  £ million 
			   2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			 East Midlands 92 118 65 154 130 
			 East of England 115 116 107 152 128 
			 London 346 535 451 489 424 
			 North East 60 73 58 69 59 
			 North West 86 108 111 96 120 
			 South Central 80 115 103 136 118 
			 South East Coast 121 139 140 159 137 
			 South West 88 116 76 129 141 
			 West Midlands 253 296 265 259 251 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 101 128 164 211 275 
			 National total 1,342 1,744 1,542 1,854 1,783 
		
	
	
		
			  Total backlog maintenance cost for the NHS in England 
			  National total  Total backlog maintenance (£ million) 
			 1997-98 2,836 
			 1998-99 3,027 
			 1999-2000 3,108 
			 2000-01 3,242 
			 2001-02 3,378 
			 2002-03 3,518 
			 2003-04 3,198 
			 2004-05 3,142 
			 2005-06 3,684 
			 2006-07 3,740 
			 2007-08 4,044 
			 2008-09 4,085 
		
	
	
		
			  (ii) Total maintenance backlog cost for the NHS at each strategic health authority 
			  £ million 
			  Total backlog maintenance by the 28 strategic health authorities  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire 177 91 128 130 
			 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 94 82 136 138 
			 Birmingham and the Black Country 244 262 286 360 
			 Cheshire and Merseyside 153 75 53 69 
			 County Durham and Tees Valley 62 29 57 63 
			 Cumbria and Lancashire 97 64 58 58 
			 Dorset and Somerset 47 10 18 15 
			 Essex 82 76 93 77 
			 Greater Manchester 205 172 117 122 
			 Hampshire and Isle of Wight 89 80 102 131 
			 Kent and Medway 106 114 109 151 
			 Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland 109 118 100 95 
			 Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire 99 87 63 78 
			 North and East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire 72 79 85 93 
			 North Central London 172 189 135 241 
			 North East London 147 174 168 121 
			 North West London 221 344 266 456 
			 Northumberland, Tyne and Wear 81 70 76 74 
			 Shropshire and Staffordshire 98 100 94 90 
			 South East London 164 145 119 154 
			 South West London 161 154 176 204 
			 South West Peninsula 41 18 31 70 
			 South Yorkshire 69 46 49 67 
			 Surrey and Sussex 108 85 75 94 
			 Thames Valley 151 106 124 149 
			 Trent 148 151 146 106 
			 West Midlands South SHA 94 90 84 92 
			 West Yorkshire 224 188 193 185 
			 National total 3,518 3,198 3,142 3,684 
		
	
	
		
			  £ million 
			  Total backlog maintenance by the 10 strategic health authorities  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			 East Midlands 297 285 279 
			 East of England 290 363 371 
			 London 1,110 1,106 1,088 
			 North East 132 148 145 
			 North West 309 309 322 
			 South Central 276 307 273 
			 South East Coast 249 306 297 
			 South West 173 249 296 
			 West Midlands 519 553 525 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 383 418 489 
			 National total 3,740 4,044 4,085

NHS: Cost Effectiveness

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what key efficiency gains are under consideration in the national health service in order to provide resources for front-line services.

Mike O'Brien: The national health service locally and regionally is best placed to identify savings based on their circumstances and priorities. However, NHS staff have told us that they need support to make these changes. Drawing on the available evidence and on the ideas and experience of front-line staff, we will back major programmes of work to support commissioners and providers. These programmes will be locally led, but will have national support, and will ensure that innovation is spread rapidly.
	As part of these programmes, we are exploring a number of areas under the HM Treasury-led Public Value Programme, including:
	commissioning;
	tariff;
	estates;
	long term conditions; and
	community services.
	We are also working actively with our arms length bodies, NHS organisations and others including HM Treasury and the Shareholder Executive to implement the recommendations of the Operational Efficiency Programme. Rather than initiating new projects, in many areas this builds upon significant progress made by the Department and the NHS in recent years. For example, the establishment of NHS Shared Business Services, which is now delivering shared back office services for over 100 NHS organisations.

NHS: Finance

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to paragraph 6.24, page 103 of the pre-Budget report, Cm 7747, what his Department's plans are for NHS  (a) total,  (b) resource,  (c) capital and  (d) near-cash resource expenditure in each year until 2012-13.

Mike O'Brien: As set out in paragraph 6.23, page 103 of the pre-Budget report, the Government have not done a spending review at this stage, and therefore, the specific numbers requested in the question are not available.

NHS: Information and Communications Technology

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  whether he plans to renegotiate the National programme for IT contracts for the delivery of the Care Records Service with  (a) BT for its delivery of the Spine,  (b) CSC for its delivery of iSOFT's Lorenzo and  (c) BT for its delivery of Cerner Millennium;
	(2)  what components of the National programme for IT will have their budgets ring-fenced from the proposed efficiency saving outlined in the pre-Budget report, Cm 7747.

Mike O'Brien: Decisions on where efficiency savings will be found remain to be taken. They will depend partly on the outcome of discussions with suppliers about the potential for reductions to the scope of the systems, and any contractual consequences. We will also look carefully at the savings that can be made from the costs of managing delivery of the programme.

NHS: Information and Communications Technology

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health by what date BT is expected to complete the implementation of Cerner Millennium in each of the 12 trusts in its Southern Local Service Provider structure; and how much BT will be paid on completion of this work.

Mike O'Brien: BT took over responsibility for the Cerner Millennium system at eight sites in the southern programme for information technology (IT) area, which were previously covered by a contract with Fujitsu Services Ltd, in July 2009. BT has been contracted to upgrade six of the trusts to an enhanced version of Cerner Millennium. BT first needs to transfer these systems from Fujitsu's data centre to its own, and is on schedule to complete this work before the end of March 2010. Timing of completion of the upgrades will depend on the outcome of ongoing discussion between the national health service locally and the company. Discussions are continuing with BT with regard to implementing Cerner Millennium at some further sites in the southern programme for IT area.
	The increase in the total lifetime value of the BT local service provider contract consequent on transfer to the company of elements of work in the southern programme area previously covered under contract with Fujitsu, assuming all the requirements are successfully delivered, is £546 million.

NHS: Information and Communications Technology

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  pursuant to the pre-Budget report, Cm 7747, what discussions his Department has had with  (a) HM Treasury and  (b) suppliers to the National Programme for IT on changes to the National Programme for IT budgets; and on what dates such meetings took place;
	(2)  what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the National Programme for IT and the front line of the NHS.

Mike O'Brien: Since its inception, the Department has consulted and communicated with its national health service stakeholders, including clinicians, senior NHS managers and information management and technology staff, and the medical professional representative and health regulatory bodies, on a frequent and regular basis about all aspects of the NHS information technology programme. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has also often discussed issues relating to the programme in his regular meetings with the Chancellor.
	As part of the current Government-wide drive to find efficiency savings and better value for money on major projects, officials are holding ongoing discussions with the Treasury, and with suppliers, about how these might be generated in relation to the national programme.

NHS: Manpower

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many full-time equivalent  (a) managers and  (b) senior managers were in post in each NHS trust in each of the last five years.

Ann Keen: A table giving the number of managers and senior managers in post in each, trust in each of the last five years has been placed in the Library.

North East: Neuromuscular Services

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  whether he has had discussions with the North East Specialised Commissioning Group on a review of neuromuscular services in that region;
	(2)  if he will take steps to ensure that vulnerable patients with muscular dystrophy in the North East have access to NHS-funded muscular dystrophy care advisers.

Ann Keen: No discussions have been held with the North East Specialised Commissioning Group (NESCG) on a review of neuromuscular services in that region.
	It is the responsibility of the NESCG to ensure the provision of services for neuromuscular dystrophy patients in that region, including access to national health service funded muscular dystrophy care advisers.

Obesity: Surgery

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many non-UK citizens received gastric band surgery in hospitals and clinics in England and Wales in 2008.

Gillian Merron: The information is not available in the form requested. The NHS Information Centre does not collect information relating to activities in Wales, nor is information recorded on patients who are non-UK citizens. However, information is collected on a patients' place of residence.
	Data for 2008-09 show that there were four finished consultant episodes for non-UK resident patients who received gastric band surgery in hospitals and clinics in England.
	 Note:
	The NHS Information Centre do not collect data relating to Wales. Data is provided relating to activities in English NHS hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector.
	 Hospital Episodes Statistics (HES)
	Record details on residence (i.e. where the patient is living) rather than citizenship. Non-UK residence does not imply non-UK citizenship, for example, a UK citizen might be resident in France.
	 Finished Consultant Episode (FCE)
	A FCE is defined as a continuous period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one health care provider. FCEs are counted against the year in which they end. The figures do not represent the number of different patients, as a person may have more than one episode of care within the same stay in hospital or in different stays in the same year.
	 Number of episodes with a (named) main or secondary procedure
	The figure represents the number of episodes where the procedure (or intervention) was recorded in any of the 24 operative procedure fields in a HES record. A record is only included once in each count, even if the procedure is recorded in more than one operative procedure field of the record. More procedures are carried out than episodes with a main or secondary procedure. For example, patients undergoing a 'cataract operation' would tend to have at least two procedures-removal of the faulty lens and the fitting of a new one-counted in a single episode.
	 OPCS 4.4 codes
	The OPCS 4.4 codes used for gastric band surgery are:
	G30.3-Partitioning of stomach using band (Insertion of a gastric band)
	G38.7-Removal of gastric band (Removal of a gastric band)
	The code G30.8 (Other specified plastic operations on stomach-Adjustment of gastric band) has not been included owing to the fact that though the code may include the adjustment of a gastric band, it is not limited to that procedure.
	 Data quality
	HES are compiled from data sent by over 300 NHS trusts and primary care trusts (PCTs) in England. Data is also received from a number of independent sector organisations for activity commissioned by the English NHS. The NHS Information Centre for health and social care liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data via HES processes. While this brings about improvement over time, some shortcomings remain.
	 Source:
	Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), The NHS Information Centre for health and social care

Out of Area Treatment: Wales

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients from Wales received treatment at Hereford Hospitals NHS Trust in each of the last five years; what the cost of such treatment was in each year; and if he will make a statement.

Mike O'Brien: Information on the number of patients from Wales who received treatment at Hereford Hospitals NHS Trust in each of the last five years is not held centrally.
	Treatment is measured as a count of finished consultant episodes (FCEs)(1). The number of FCEs at the trust where the strategic health authority (SHA) of residence was Wales(2) in each of the last five years is shown in the following table.
	(1) Finished consultant episodes (FCE). A FCE is a continuous period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one health care provider. FCEs are counted against the year in which they end. Figures do not represent the number of different patients, as a person may have more than one episode of care within the same stay in hospital or in different stays in the same year.
	(2) SHA/primary care trust (PCT) of residence. The SHA or PCT containing the patient's normal home address. This does not necessarily reflect where the patient was treated as they may have travelled to another SHA/PCT for treatment.
	 Source
	Hospital Episode Statistics, The NHS Information Centre for health and social care
	
		
			   Number of FCEs where the SHA of residence was Wales 
			 2008-09 5,058 
			 2007-08 4,483 
			 2006-07 4,484 
			 2005-06 4,550 
			 2004-05 456 
		
	
	Information on the cost of treatment of patients from Wales at Hereford Hospitals NHS Trust is not held centrally.

Smoking

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of people  (a) under the age of 18 years old,  (b) between 18 and 24 years old and  (c) over the age of 24 years smoked in England in each year since 2000.

Gillian Merron: The information is not available in the requested format.
	The percentage of children aged 11 to 15 who are regular smokers (smoke at least one cigarette a week) and occasional smokers (smoke less than one cigarette a week) is available in Table 2.1 of the publication 'Smoking, drinking and drug use among young people in England, 2008'. Data are available from 2000 to 2008. This publication has already been placed in the Library and is available on the following link:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/sdd08fullreport
	The percentage of adults aged 16 and over in England, who are current smokers is presented in Table 2.1 of 'Statistics on Smoking, England 2009'. Data are available for each year between 2000 and 2007 for the following age breakdowns: aged 16-19, 20-24, 25-34, 35-49, 50-59 and 60 and above. This publication has already been placed in the Library and is available at the following link:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/smoking09
	Data for adults and children are not directly comparable as definitions for smoking are different in adults and children and the data were collected in different surveys.

Smoking

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what impact assessments were undertaken of the effects on licensed premises of the ban on smoking in public places were carried out  (a) before and  (b) since the implementation of the ban.

Gillian Merron: The Regulatory Impact Assessment for the smokefree element of the Health Act 2006 is published, a copy has already been placed in the Library, and is available on the Department's website at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Legislation/Regulatoryimpactassessment/DH_4138930
	We have given a commitment to review the impact of the smokefree law three years after its implementation on 1 July 2007. The review will take place in the latter part of 2010. In preparation for the review, the Department has commissioned a number of research reports. Once these reports have been completed and peer reviewed they will be published and will be given full consideration as part of the review.

Social Enterprise Investment Fund

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 8 December 2009,  Official Report, column 288W, on the Social Enterprise Investment Fund, on what date each organisation in receipt of a grant from the Social Enterprise Investment Fund in 2009-10  (a) applied for and  (b) received its grant.

Phil Hope: The following table shows the organisations that have received money from the Social Enterprise Investment Fund in 2009-10.
	
		
			  Organisation  Application date  Disbursement date  Grant or loan 
			 Deep Green Care Community 1 February 2009 24 September 2009 Grant 
			 Eagle Recruitment Centre 1 June 2009 1 October 2009 Grant 
			 Paul Lambden (East Lanes PCT) 21 June 2009 6 October 2009 Grant 
			 Destiny Support 31 July 2008 29 July 2009 Grant 
			 MiLife UK CIC 1 August 2009 15 October 2009 Loan 
			 DeCoda 1 April 2009 29 September 2009 Loan 
			 Caleb CIC 4 August 2009 2 November 2009 Loan

Social Enterprise Investment Fund

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 8 December 2009,  Official Report, column 288W, on the Social Enterprise Investment Fund, how much the Social Enterprise Investment Fund has spent on business support services since July 2008; and how many organisations have made use of the business support services provided by the Fund in  (a) 2008-09 and  (b) 2009-10.

Phil Hope: In 2008-09, the fund manager did not offer business support services. In 2009-10, business support services were offered and 31 organisations have made use of the services to date, and received £64,686 in total.

Social Services

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the provision of free personal care at home falls under the  (a) partnership,  (b) insurance or  (c) comprehensive model of the Social Care Green Paper.

Phil Hope: It is very important not to conflate the funding for a national care service with the funding for the Government's Personal Care at Home Bill. The Bill is about putting more money into the system as soon as possible to help people with the highest needs live independently at home. The Green Paper is about building a sustainable system for the future. We have been consulting widely on how to best do that.
	All the proposals outlined in the Bill are funded through efficiencies and reprioritisations in the Department of Health and in Local Government. The Bill will protect those who currently receive personal care services for free from changes in the future. It will also help around 130,000 people who need home care for the first time to regain their independence. This intensive help, or re-ablement, will help people to regain their independence and prevent ill health. This means people will maintain their dignity and rebuild their confidence so that they can live at home for longer. As well as providing a free personal care service to thousands of people, the Bill will also benefit their families.
	There are still huge challenges in the care and support system and the Green Paper sought people's views on how we resolve those challenges and create a sustainable system for the long term. But we cannot stand still in meeting the challenge of rising costs now. The Bill will help support those who are currently most in need of personal care in their own homes.

Social Services

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether an assessment for a package of care as proposed in the Social Care Green Paper includes assessing the extra costs of being disabled in the same terms at the White Paper in which that allowance was proposed.

Phil Hope: The Green Paper Shaping the Future of Care Together proposed a new nationally consistent care assessment process. We will give more details about the National Care Service offer in our White Paper later this year, and this will include information on the care assessment process.

Social Services

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 9 December 2009,  Official Report, column 498W, on social services, from which of his Department's budgets he plans to fund the transition costs.

Phil Hope: A one-off transition cost of £335 million is set out in the impact assessment for the first half-year of the policy, from October 2010. Of this, £210 million will come from the Department and £125 million from local government efficiency savings.
	For details of the budgets which will be re-prioritised to meet these first half-year costs, I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Boston and Skegness (Mark Simmonds) on 8 December 2009,  Official Report, column 296W.

Social Services

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to paragraph 6.46, pages 109-10 of the pre-Budget report, Cm 7747, how the anticipated savings correlate with the estimate in the impact assessment for his Department's Personal Care at Home Bill that more people will be brought into the state-funded home care system.

Phil Hope: The pre-Budget report announced that councils will make £250 million efficiency savings by 2012-13 from reducing the significant variations in the proportion of funding that councils spend on residential care provision through supporting more people to live for longer in their own homes.
	These efficiency savings will be used to help meet the ever growing pressure on budgets from demographic changes and to support more people to live in their homes through the offer of free personal care for those with the greatest need. These savings may be used alongside the funding made available by the Department to deliver the proposals of the Personal Care at Home Bill.

Social Services

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what assessment his Department has made of the ability of local authorities to deliver free personal care to people with  (a) disabilities and  (b) the highest need;
	(2)  what assessment his Department has made of the  (a) capacity and  (b) capability of local authorities to provide free personal care to all people who need it; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Hope: It is the responsibility for each local authority (LA), at a local level, to determine and manage the extent to which they have the ability, capability and capacity to deliver the policy to meet their population needs. The consultation document, Personal Care at Home-a consultation on proposals for regulation and guidance, recognises this and, at section 2.4, sets out specific areas for LAs to consider and potential ways in which the Department can support LAs.
	The consultation document has already been placed in the Library and on the Department's website at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/en/Consultations/Liveconsultations/DH_109139

Social Services: Disabled

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate his Department has made of the annual cost of providing free personal care for people with disabilities; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Hope: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Eddisbury (Mr. O'Brien) on 9 December 2009,  Official Report, column 497W.

CHILDREN, SCHOOLS AND FAMILIES

Autism: Mental Health Services

Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  what steps his Department has taken to ensure that children with an autistic spectrum disorder have appropriate support from Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services;
	(2)  whether any Tier 4 child and adolescent mental health services cater exclusively for children with an autistic spectrum disorder;
	(3)  what autistic-specific training is required of staff working in child and adolescent mental health services Tiers 2 to 4;
	(4)  whether the proxy indicator used in public service agreement 12 on the development and delivery of Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services for children and young people with learning disabilities is intended to cover children with autistic spectrum disorders who do not have a learning disability.

Phil Hope: I have been asked to reply.
	The Government have taken steps to ensure that Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) are improved for all children and adolescents, including those with an autistic spectrum disorder. The independent CAMHS Review, commissioned by Ministers, reported in November 2008. The Review made 20 recommendations aimed at improving children's and young people's mental health and psychological wellbeing. The Government is shortly to publish a Full Government Response to the Review, aimed at providers and commissioners of services, which describes how professionals can work effectively together so that everyone in the wider children's workforce knows exactly where to turn when a child has emotional wellbeing or mental health needs.
	The National Institute for Clinical Excellence is currently developing a clinical guideline on the recognition, referral and diagnosis of Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD).
	The children's service mapping exercise in England in 2007-08 found that the number of children and young people supported with ASD had increased from 7,719 in 2006 (7 per cent. of caseload) to 10,231 in 2007 (9 per cent.). 685 CAMHS teams supported ASD children and young people and their families. Of these 108 CAMHS teams reported providing targeted work for children and young people with ASD. Additionally, of the 349 community paediatric services, 193 (55 per cent.) ran ASD clinics.
	There are Tier 4 services which cater specifically for children with ASD. Examples include the Hawksmere Children's Unit (Autism Therapy and Education Centre) in Hertfordshire, which is specifically for boys from the age of 13-18 with ASD, and Cygnet Springside, based in the north west and south west of England.
	The training of staff is for determination at a local level. Staff dealing with patients with ASD would be expected to be trained to deal with such patients.
	Within PSA12 (to improve the health and wellbeing of children and young people) the Government are committed to improving the mental and emotional health and wellbeing of children and young people. Four proxy measures are being used to monitor progress: the development and delivery of CAMHS for children and young people with learning disabilities; appropriate accommodation and support for 16/17 year olds; availability of 24-hour cover to meet urgent mental health needs; and joint commissioning of early intervention support. Services for children and young people with ASD are included in three of these proxies and those who additionally have a learning disability are included in the learning disability proxy.

Building Schools for the Future Programme

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families which local authorities have received no funding under the Building Schools for the Future programme; and if he will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: 75 local authorities have received no funding under the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme. 20 of these have already entered the BSF programme but will not have received any funding by the end of the 2009-10 financial year. These authorities are set out in the following list.
	 Local authority
	Bedford
	Brent
	Camden
	Croydon
	Darlington
	Hammersmith and Fulham
	Havering
	Hillingdon
	Hounslow
	Kingston
	Norfolk
	Plymouth
	Sefton
	Staffordshire
	Stockton on Tees
	Suffolk
	Wakefield
	Walsall
	Warrington
	Worcestershire
	The remaining 55 local authorities are listed as follows. Those marked with an asterisk have received funding under the BSF One School pathfinder programme.
	 Local authority
	Bath and North East Somerset*
	Bexley
	Bracknell Forest*
	Brighton and Hove
	Bromley
	Buckinghamshire*
	Bury
	Calderdale
	Cheshire East
	Cheshire West and Chester
	City of London
	Cornwall*
	Cumbria
	Dorset*
	Dudley
	East Riding of Yorkshire
	East Sussex*
	Gloucestershire*
	Harrow*
	Herefordshire*
	Isle of Wight
	Isles of Scilly
	Lincolnshire
	Medway
	Merton
	Central Bedfordshire
	Milton Keynes
	North Somerset*
	North Yorkshire*
	Northamptonshire
	Northumberland
	Oxfordshire
	Reading
	Redbridge*
	Richmond upon Thames*
	Rutland*
	Shropshire*
	Slough
	South Gloucestershire*
	Southend-on-Sea*
	Stockport
	Surrey
	Sutton*
	Swindon
	Thurrock
	Torbay*
	Trafford
	Warwickshire
	West Berkshire*
	West Sussex*
	Wiltshire
	Windsor and Maidenhead*
	Wirral*
	Wokingham*
	York*
	The DCSF remains committed to the aim of BSF to provide 21(st)-century teaching and learning facilities for all secondary pupils and staff in England. The following link includes information on the indicative reprioritisation of BSF based on the revised expressions of interest provided in November 2008 by all authorities with projects in waves 7 to 15 of BSF.
	http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/management/resourcesfinanceandbuilding/bsf/rnp/
	On current timescales it is expected that all local authorities will have completed, or be in the final stages of their BSF projects by 2020.

Building Schools for the Future Programme

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what measures are in place to ensure that schools being constructed under his Department's Building Schools for the Future programme have high-calibre facilities for education in science, engineering and technology.

Vernon Coaker: The aim of Building Schools for the Future (BSF), the largest capital investment programme for 50 years, is to provide world-class teaching and learning environments across the whole curriculum, including science, engineering and technology. We have a number of measures in place to support this, including:
	 PfS standard contract documents
	The 'Facilities and Services Output Specification (Design Brief)' includes design standards and references for all curriculum subjects. For more information on BSF standard documents, see:
	www.partnershipsforschools.org.uk/library/library.jsp
	 Design guidance: Building Bulletin 80
	'Science Accommodation for Secondary Schools' and Building Bulletin 81: 'Design and Technology Accommodation for Secondary Schools' provide detailed design guidance on space standards, services, furniture and equipment. For more information on the Department's design guidance see:
	www.teachernet.gov.uk/schoolbuildings/
	 Exemplar designs
	Project Faraday has developed exemplar designs for school laboratories to meet the needs of 21st century practical science teaching. These exemplar projects, many of which are already built, will inform and inspire all those involved in BSF. For more information on Project Faraday see:
	www.teachernet.gov.uk/schoolbuildings/

Children: Day Care

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many childcare settings based at college and universities have closed in each quarter of each of the last five years.

Vernon Coaker: These are matters for Ofsted. The Chief Inspector, Christine Gilbert, has written to the hon. Member and a copy of her reply has been placed in the House Libraries.
	 Letter from Christine Gilbert, dated 10 December 2009:
	Your recent parliamentary question has been passed to me, as Her Majesty's Chief Inspector, for reply.
	I am able to provide you with the number of childcare providers based at colleges and universities which have closed in each quarter, since quarter four of 2008. Prior to this, we did not record whether childcare settings were on college or university sites.
	
		
			  Quarter  Period  Number of childcare providers closed 
			 Q4 2008 1 October 2008 to 31 December 2008 0 
			 Q1 2009 1 January 2009 to 31 March 2009 0 
			 Q2 2009 1 April 2009 to 30 June 2009 2 
			 Q3 2009 1 July 2009 to 30 September 2009 3 
		
	
	All data have been retrieved from Ofsted's database as of 4 December 2009.
	A copy of this reply has been sent to Rt Hon Dawn Primarolo MP, Minister of State for Children, Young People and Families, and will be placed in the library of both houses.

Children: Protection

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families who was responsible for drawing up guidance notes for the barring decision making process published in February 2009 by the Board of the Independent Safeguarding Authority; which external bodies were consulted in the preparation of the guidance; how many civil servants from which Departments were involved; what legal advice was sought concerning the guidance; and from whom.

Meg Hillier: holding answer 14 December 2009
	I have been asked to reply.
	The Board of the Independent Safeguarding Authority was responsible for the drawing up of the guidance notes for the barring decision making process with input from advisors and support from ISA staff. The Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) engaged in discussions with over sixty stakeholders and held meetings in October 2008 and January 2009. Stakeholders included the Department for Health, Department for Children Schools and Families, General Social Care Council, General Medical Council, General Teaching Council and the Royal College of Nursing. Civil servants were not involved in the development of the Process or the Guidance as barring decisions are a matter for the ISA. They were included in the consultation process. The Process and Guidance was developed with the close involvement of the Board's legal adviser who is provided by the Treasury Solicitor.

Children: Protection

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many people have contacted Ofsted's safeguarding children whistleblower hotline in each month since its inception.

Vernon Coaker: This is a matter for Ofsted. HM Chief Inspector, Christine Gilbert, has written to the hon. Member and a copy of her reply has been placed in the House Libraries.
	 Letter from Christine Gilbert, dated 16 December 2009:
	Your recent parliamentary questions have been passed to me, as Her Majesty's Chief Inspector, for response.
	Since 1 April 2009, Ofsted has received 1,292 calls to its whistleblower hotline. Most of these calls were not actually whistleblowing, defined as the disclosure of employer malpractice by an employee. Of the 1,292 calls, 26 calls qualified as whistleblowing disclosures under Ofsted's whistleblower procedures. The other calls were either general queries or were complaints about providers, which were not whistleblowing as such, for example a parent making a complaint about a childcare provider.
	In addition to calls on the hotline, Ofsted has received 15 whistleblowing disclosures by email and 24 disclosures by letter.
	The table at the end of this letter gives a break down of the number of calls by month since the hotline's inception.
	A copy of this reply has been sent to Vernon Coaker MP, Minister of State for Schools and Learners, and will be placed in the library of both Houses.
	
		
			  Total number of calls received by Ofsted's whistleblower hotline 
			  Month  Number of calls 
			 April 151 
			 May 126 
			 Jun 148 
			 July 159 
			 August 61 
			 September 172 
			 October 232 
			 November 243 
			 Total 1,292

Class Sizes: Preston

Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the average class size in schools in Preston was in  (a) 1997 and  (b) 2009.

Vernon Coaker: The average class size of maintained primary schools in Preston was 28.4 in 1997 and 25.3 in 2009; the figures for state funded secondary schools were 21.7 and 20.2 respectively.

Classroom Assistants: South East

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many full-time equivalent teaching assistants there were in  (a) maintained nurseries,  (b) primary schools,  (c) secondary schools,  (d) special schools and  (e) pupil referral units in each education authority in the South East in each of the last five years.

Vernon Coaker: The following tables provide the full-time equivalent number of teaching assistants employed in local authority maintained schools in each local authority in the South East Government office region, in each January from 2005 to 2009 broken down by phase of education.
	
		
			  Full-time equivalent number of teaching assistants in service in local authority maintained schools( 1)  by phase of education, South East Government office region, January 2005 to 2009 
			   Nursery  Primary 
			   2005  2006  2007  2008  2009  2005  2006  2007  2008  2009 
			  South East 240 260 250 310 320 13,820 13,190 14,280 15,650 16,130 
			 Bracknell Forest - - - - - 150 120 150 140 180 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead 20 20 20 20 20 140 160 190 210 210 
			 West Berkshire 10 10 10 10 10 300 250 210 240 390 
			 Reading 30 20 30 30 30 190 120 150 260 330 
			 Slough 40 40 40 50 50 340 330 340 420 480 
			 Wokingham 10 10 10 10 10 240 240 250 280 310 
			 Buckinghamshire 10 10 10 10 10 530 650 660 740 680 
			 Milton Keynes - 10 - 10 10 300 360 400 530 610 
			 East Sussex - - - - - 830 690 750 860 840 
			 Brighton and Hove 10 10 10 - - 240 260 290 460 480 
			 Hampshire 20 30 40 50 50 2,170 2,030 2,140 2,240 2,340 
			 Portsmouth - - 10 - 10 430 400 400 460 460 
			 Southampton 10 10 10 10 - 440 420 450 430 360 
			 Isle of Wight - - - - - 170 150 200 240 190 
			 Kent - - - - 10 3,090 2,810 3,190 3,160 3,120 
			 Medway - - - - - 630 570 620 560 530 
			 Oxfordshire 30 30 30 30 40 920 820 870 1,140 1,320 
			 Surrey 30 30 20 50 50 1,790 1,740 1,860 1,880 1,830 
			 West Sussex 30 30 20 30 30 930 1,080 1,150 1,400 1,460 
		
	
	
		
			   Secondary( 1)  Special 
			   2005  2006  2007  2008  2009  2005  2006  2007  2008  2009 
			  South East 5,140 5,560 5,760 6,000 6,290 2,960 3,100 3,360 3,380 3,660 
			 Bracknell Forest 40 50 30 50 60 10 50 50 60 60 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead 120 120 100 130 130 30 30 40 30 40 
			 West Berkshire 150 140 150 190 190 70 80 90 100 110 
			 Reading 60 50 50 60 50 30 40 40 70 80 
			 Slough 70 80 90 100 90 60 60 70 90 110 
			 Wokingham 100 100 100 120 130 30 30 40 60 70 
			 Buckinghamshire 210 250 280 320 340 200 170 210 250 260 
			 Milton Keynes 160 180 220 250 260 50 110 130 150 160 
			 East Sussex 360 440 420 430 430 180 190 210 240 230 
			 Brighton and Hove 110 110 130 160 180 100 130 110 110 120 
			 Hampshire 640 700 710 700 760 420 420 510 440 520 
			 Portsmouth 140 150 150 170 150 240 80 130 150 130 
			 Southampton 130 150 160 130 120 70 70 60 60 20 
			 Isle of Wight 210 210 210 250 230 60 60 80 80 80 
			 Kent 1,100 1,100 1,210 1,130 1,240 630 710 700 630 760 
			 Medway 220 250 230 250 260 90 110 110 120 120 
			 Oxfordshire 520 590 590 590 570 190 170 240 180 180 
			 Surrey 450 510 520 550 640 320 430 410 330 320 
			 West Sussex 350 390 410 430 450 170 150 140 230 300 
		
	
	
		
			   Pupil referral unit  Total all schools( 1) 
			   2005  2006  2007  2008  2009  2005  2006  2007  2008  2009 
			  South East 230 250 280 370 400 22,400 22,360 23,930 25,710 26,790 
			 Bracknell Forest 10 10 10 - - 210 220 240 250 300 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead - - - 10 10 300 330 350 390 410 
			 West Berkshire 10 10 10 10 10 530 490 470 550 710 
			 Reading 10 10 10 20 20 320 250 280 440 510 
			 Slough 10 20 10 10 20 530 530 550 680 750 
			 Wokingham - - - - - 380 380 410 480 520 
			 Buckinghamshire 10 10 10 20 10 950 1,100 1,180 1,320 1,300 
			 Milton Keynes 10 20 20 20 10 530 680 770 960 1,050 
			 East Sussex - 10 10 - 10 1,380 1,330 1,380 1,530 1,510 
			 Brighton and Hove - - - - - 460 510 540 740 780 
			 Hampshire 30 30 40 40 60 3,280 3,210 3,430 3,470 3,740 
			 Portsmouth 20 20 20 - - 830 660 710 780 750 
			 Southampton 10 20 10 20 20 660 660 680 660 520 
			 Isle of Wight 10 10 10 10 20 450 430 500 580 510 
			 Kent 30 40 40 100 100 4,860 4,660 5,140 5,020 5,220 
			 Medway 20 10 30 20 20 960 930 990 950 920 
			 Oxfordshire 10 10 20 20 30 1,670 1,630 1,750 1,960 2,140 
			 Surrey 30 30 20 30 30 2,610 2,720 2,840 2,830 2,870 
			 West Sussex 10 10 10 30 30 1,480 1,660 1,730 2,110 2,270 
			 (1) Excludes academies and city technology colleges.  Note: Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.  Source: Annual Survey of Teachers in Service and Teacher Vacancies, 618g 
		
	
	continued

Common Assessment Framework

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  which children's services authorities have not yet been inspected under the Common Assessment Framework;
	(2)  which children's services authorities will be inspected under the Common Assessment Framework in the next six months.

Vernon Coaker: These are matters for Ofsted. HM Chief Inspector, Christine Gilbert, has written to the hon. Member and a copy of her reply has been placed in the House Libraries.
	 Letter from Christine Gilbert, dated 9 December 2009:
	Your recent parliamentary questions have been passed to me, as Her Majesty's Chief Inspector, for response.
	The Common Assessment Framework is a standardised approach, used at local level, to conducting individual assessments of children's additional needs and deciding how these should be met. The new system for assessing local authority children's services is the Comprehensive Area Assessment (CAA), which came into place from 1 April 2009.1 have assumed your questions relate to the latter.
	Under the arrangements for CAA, all local authority children's services have been assessed by Ofsted and received an annual rating for 2009. The ratings, based on a four-point scale, have been published in a letter for each of the 152 local authorities, which is available to view on the Ofsted website. This annual rating of children's services will also form part of the joint inspectorate CAA area and organisational assessments for each of the 152 local authorities, which have now been published on the 'oneplace' website.
	Ofsted also introduced unannounced visits to front-line social care services for children and young people from 1 June 2009. As of 7 December 2009, 29 reports have been published and the list can be found in full in Table A at the end of this letter. By the end of June 2010 all local authority children's services will have been subject to such an inspection.
	In addition, a three-year programme of full inspections of local authority services for safeguarding and looked after children began in June 2009. As of 7 December 2009, nine local authorities have been inspected. The local authorities are listed in Table B at the end of this letter and the reports have been published on the Ofsted website. Local authorities are given no more than two weeks' notice of an inspection and it would therefore be inappropriate to list the authorities due for inspection in the next six months.
	A copy of this reply has been sent to Rt Hon Dawn Primarolo MP, Minister of State for Children, Young People and Families, and will be placed in the library of both Houses.
	 The 29 local authorities already inspected under the unannounced visits to front-line social care services for children and young people since June 2009.
	Bradford
	Bristol
	Camden
	Derbyshire
	Essex
	Hammersmith and Fulham
	Hampshire
	Hertfordshire
	Kirklees
	Knowsley
	Lambeth
	Lancashire
	Leicester City
	Lincolnshire
	Northamptonshire
	Nottinghamshire
	Peterborough
	Plymouth
	Reading
	Rotherham
	Salford
	Sefton
	Sheffield
	Slough
	Surrey
	Thurrock
	Trafford
	West Sussex
	Wokingham
	 The nine local authorities already inspected as part of the three-year programme of full inspections of local authority services for safeguarding and looked after children since June 2009.
	Blackpool
	Cambridgeshire
	Cornwall
	Devon
	Hillingdon
	Hounslow
	N. Yorkshire
	Staffordshire
	Warrington

Co-operative Schools

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families if he will list for each local authority those Co-operative Schools registered with his Department; and if he will indicate what steps his Department has taken to encourage local authorities to expand this number.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 16 December 2009
	Schools are required to notify the Department's School Organisation Unit if they have changed their status and/or acquired a Trust, but the Department plays no role in decisions on individual cases. According to our records the following schools in the listed local authorities have become co-operative Trust schools.
	
		
			  Local authority  School 
			 Central Bedfordshire Samuel Whitbread Community College 
			  Derwent Lower School 
			  Etonbury Middle School 
			  Gothic Mede Lower School 
			  Hitchmead Special School 
			  Langford Lower School 
			  Robert Bloomfield Middle School 
			   
			 Thurrock St. Clere's School 
			   
			 Suffolk Orwell High School 
			  Deben High School 
			   
			 Southampton Upper Shirley High School 
			   
			 Plymouth Lipson Community College 
			   
			 Dorset Wey Valley School, The 
			  Wyvern Special School 
			   
			 Telford and Wrekin The Sutherland School 
			   
			 Kingston Upon Hull Andrew Marvell Business and Enterprise College 
			   
			 Doncaster Campsmount Technology College 
			   
			 Bradford Nab Wood School 
			   
			 Stockport Reddish Vale Technology College 
			   
			 Wirral Bebington High Sports College 
			   
			 Blackburn with Darwen Blakewater College 
			   
			 Bolton Lever Park School 
			   
			 Cheshire East Alsager School 
			  Alsager Highfields Primary School 
			  Excalibur Primary School 
			  Pikemere Primary School 
			   
			 Oldham Hathershaw College of Technology and Sport, The 
			  Broadfield Primary School 
		
	
	It is for the Governing Body of a school-not the local authority-to determine whether or not to acquire a Trust, and to decide which partners it wishes to work with.
	However, to access the support funding and advice and guidance on the technical processes around acquiring a trust, schools can submit an Expression of Interest to the Trust Schools Programme.
	The Co-operative is also sponsoring academies in Manchester and Stoke-on-Trent that are due to open in September 2010.

Education: Assessments

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many 16 year olds completed a BTEC First Diploma in each subject in each of the last five years.

Iain Wright: The following table shows the number of 16-year-olds in England who completed a BTEC First Diploma in each subject in each of the last five years for which information is available.
	
		
			  BTEC First Diploma awards achieved by those with an academic age of 16 in England, 2003/04 to 2007/08 
			   Year in which qualification was achieved 
			  Qualification Title: EDEXCEL Level 2 BTEC First Diploma  2003/04  2004/05  2005/06  2006/07  2007/08 
			 For ICT Practitioners 0 0 0 2,847 3,456 
			 For IT Practitioners (General) 598 1,169 1,465 7 0 
			 For IT Practitioners (ICT Systems Support) 107 207 332 0 0 
			 For IT Practitioners (Software Development) 188 224 297 * 0 
			 In Agriculture 75 72 102 98 103 
			 In Animal Care 795 906 951 1,079 1,176 
			 In Applied Science 87 208 346 658 782 
			 In Art and Design 0 521 1,743 2,906 3,274 
			 In Business 307 949 1,992 3,515 4,790 
			 In Caring 561 1,018 385 * 0 
			 In Children's Care, Learning and Development 0 0 0 803 991 
			 In Construction 50 130 338 523 532 
			 In Countryside and Environment 79 92 152 148 162 
			 In Design 587 790 561 3 0 
			 In Early Years 439 628 936 7 0 
			 In Electronics 130 156 240 0 0 
			 In Engineering 0 0 0 1,020 1,205 
			 In Fish Husbandry 27 47 42 42 50 
			 In Floristry 6 8 14 18 23 
			 In Front Line Services 0 0 0 0 0 
			 In Health and Social Care 0 0 1,524 3,296 4,058 
			 In Horse Care 245 284 258 279 289 
			 In Horticulture 138 108 156 172 182 
			 In Hospitality 0 16 88 143 169 
			 In Land-based Technology 0 0 0 33 34 
			 In Logistics 0 0 4 0 20 
			 In Manufacturing Engineering 479 556 690 7 11 
			 In Media 232 868 1,182 1,501 1,718 
			 In Music 0 0 0 822 1,001 
			 In Operations and Maintenance Engineering 71 89 113 0 * 
			 In Performing Arts 1,644 2,048 2,425 1,735 1,737 
			 In Public Services 1,674 2,176 2,563 2,892 3,310 
			 In Retail * 27 111 139 241 
			 In Sport 1,489 2,248 2,827 4,147 4,246 
			 In Sport and Exercise Sciences 630 604 601 7 10 
			 In Travel and Tourism 231 933 1,361 1,595 1,981 
			 In Vehicle Service and Technology 216 196 205 245 290 
			 Total 11,086 17,278 24,004 30,689 35,843 
			  Note: Figures few than three and more than zero have been suppressed and replaced by *.  Source: National Information System for Vocational Qualifications.

GCSE: Nottingham

Graham Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what percentage of pupils in Nottingham North constituency obtained five A* to C grades at GCSE including English and mathematics in (a) 1997 and (b) 2009.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested is given for 1996/97 and 2007/08. Data for 2008/09 will not be available until after the publication of the Achievement and Attainment Tables in mid January 2010.
	
		
			  Pupils at the end of key stage 4 in maintained schools in Nottingham North constituency achieving five or more GCSEs or equivalent( 1)  at grades A*-C including English and Maths GCSEs, 1996/97 and 2007/08( 2) 
			   Number of pupils achieving five or more GCSEs at grades A*-C including English and Maths GCSEs  Percentage of pupils achieving five or more GCSEs at grades A*-C including English and Maths GCSEs 
			 1996/97 164 12.8 
			 2007/08 353 28.2 
			 (1) Figures for 1997/98 include GNVQ equivalences. Figures for 2007/08 include other equivalences approved for use pre-16. (2) Figures for 1997/98 are based on pupils aged 15 years old at the start of the academic year. Figures for 2007/08 onwards are based on pupils at the end of key stage 4.  Source: National Pupil Database and Achievement and Attainment Tables (final data)

GCSE: Preston

Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many pupils in Preston schools gained five A* to C GCSEs or equivalent in  (a) 1997 and  (b) 2009.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested is given in the following table for 1996/97 and 2007/08. Data for 2008/09 will not be available until after the publication of the Achievement and Attainment Tables in mid January 2010.
	
		
			  Pupils at the end of key stage 4 in maintained schools in Preston constituency achieving five or more GCSEs or equivalent( 1)  at grades A*-C, 1996/97 and 2007/08( 2) 
			   Number of pupils achieving five or more GCSEs at grades A*-C  Percentage of pupils achieving five or more GCSEs at grades A*-C 
			 1996/97 306 32.7 
			 2007/08 404 55.5 
			 (1) Figures for 1997/98 include GNVQ equivalences. Figures for 2007/08 include other equivalences approved for use pre-16. (2) Figures for 1997/98 are based on pupils aged 15-years-old at the start of the academic year. Figures for 2007/08 onwards are based on pupils at the end of key stage 4.  Source: National Pupil Database and Achievement and Attainment Tables (final data)

Hotels

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much the Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills has spent on hotel accommodation for its officials in each of the last five years.

Vernon Coaker: This is a matter for Ofsted. HM chief inspector, Christine Gilbert, has written to the hon. Member and a copy of her reply has been placed in the House Libraries.
	 Letter from Christine Gilbert, dated 10 December 2009:
	Your recent parliamentary question has been passed to me, as Her Majesty's Chief Inspector, for a response.
	Figures for 2006/07 and 2007/08 are not available from the current financial system and would need to be retrieved from archived data. Retrieval of this data would only be possible at disproportionate costs.
	Ofsted expenditure on hotel accommodation for its officials in the last three years was:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2007/08 2,197,963.73 
			 2008/09 2,373,804.91 
			 2009/10 1,456,399.53 
		
	
	The 2009/10 figure is for the first eight months of the current financial year.
	A copy of this reply has been sent to Vernon Coaker MP, Minister of State for Schools and Learners and will be placed in the library of both Houses.

National Academy of Parenting Practitioners: Finance

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much funding his Department has allocated to the National Academy of Parenting Practitioners in each financial year since 2006-07.

Vernon Coaker: The Department has paid £8.76 million to the academy in 2007-08 when it was established, £8.24 million in 2008-09 and up to £10million has been allocated in 2009-10 of which £4.29 million has been paid to date.

National Curriculum Tests: Preston

Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many 14 year olds in Preston schools reached level 5 or above in key stage 3 results in  (a) 1997 and  (b) 2009.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested is given in the following table for 1997 and 2008. Key stage 3 tests were discontinued after 2008.
	
		
			  Pupils at the end of key stage 3 in maintained schools in Preston constituency achieving level 5 or above, 1997 and 2008( 1) 
			   English  Maths  Science 
			   Number of pupils achieving level 5 or above  Percentage of pupils achieving level 5 or above  Number of pupils achieving level 5 or above  Percentage of pupils achieving level 5 or above  Number of pupils achieving level 5 or above  Percentage of pupils achieving level 5 or above 
			 1997 489 50 488 49 476 48 
			 2008(1) 456 65 473 68 454 65 
			 (1) Figures for 2008 are based on updated data. 1997 figures are final.  Source: National Pupil Database and Achievement and Attainment Tables

National Curriculum Tests: Preston

Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many 11 year olds in Preston schools reached level 4 or above in key stage 2 results in  (a) 1997 and  (b) 2009.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested is provided in the following table.
	
		
			  Pupils at the end of key stage 2 in maintained schools in Preston constituency achieving level 4 or above in key stage 2 tests, 1997 and 2009( 1) 
			   Pupils achieving level 4 or above 
			   English  Maths  Science 
			   Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage 
			 1997 666 53 664 52 744 59 
			 2009(1) 781 74 768 73 869 83 
			 (1) Figures for 2009 are based on revised data. 1997 figures are final.  Source: National Pupil Database and Achievement and Attainment Tables.

Ofsted

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families whether any of Ofsted's three regional contractors themselves have contracts for the supply of goods and services to any of the organisations they are contracted to inspect.

Vernon Coaker: This is a matter for Ofsted. HM Chief Inspector, Christine Gilbert, has written to my hon. Friend and a copy of her reply has been placed in the House Libraries.
	 Letter from Christine Gilbert, dated 16 December 2009:
	Your recent parliamentary question has been passed to me, as Her Majesty's Chief Inspector, for a response.
	Ofsted recognises that in contracting for inspection services there is a possibility of conflicts of interest and to mitigate this risk we have developed a protocol, which is supported by registers of interest, submitted by each of our Inspection Services Providers (ISPs). The protocol can be found on Ofsted's website.
	If an ISP has a conflict of interest with an organisation it is contracted to inspect, responsibility for that inspection will be transferred to a different ISP. In the event that all three ISPs are deemed to have a conflict of interest, the inspection or regulatory activity will be carried out exclusively by HMI.
	A copy of this reply has been sent to Vernon Coaker MP, Minister of State for Schools and Learners, and will be placed in the library of both Houses.

Ofsted

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the experience of each of Ofsted's three regional contractors in respect of each of the services and organisations for which they are contracted to inspect; for how long each has been contracted in each case; and what assessment he has made of their performance;
	(2)  with which organisations Ofsted has contracts for the delivery of its services in its  (a) North, (b) Midlands and  (c) Southern regions;
	(3)  for the inspection of which services and organisations Ofsted is responsible.

Vernon Coaker: These are matters for Ofsted. HM Chief Inspector, Christine Gilbert, has written to my hon. Friend and copies of her replies have been placed in the House Libraries.
	 Letter from Christine Gilbert, dated 11 December 2009:
	Your recent parliamentary questions have been passed to me, as Her Majesty's Chief Inspector, for a response.
	Contracts to Ofsted's three regional Inspection Service Providers were awarded in March 2009, following evaluation of competitive bids.
	The evaluation criteria took into account the potential contractor's:
	capacity to be a credible partner
	ability to deliver requirements
	methods to deliver high quality, user-focused inspections
	approach to risk management
	approach to business improvement
	acceptance of baseline documentation
	These criteria accounted for 60% of the overall evaluation score, and price/financial terms accounted for 40%. During the prequalification stage of the competitive tender, references about each of the bidders were sought to inform the evaluations and these references were refreshed as part of the evidence for the consideration of the final tenders.
	Under the criterion Delivering Requirements, potential contractors were invited to show how, when recruiting and training inspectors and staff, they would deal with the skills and experiences needed for different remits and how they would ensure that the practitioners meet requirements in all remits.
	On the basis of the evaluation Ofsted was content to award contracts as specified to CfBT Education Trust to cover the contract area for the North, Serco Education to cover the contract area for the Midlands and Tribal Group to cover the contract area for the South. These contracts are in place for the period from the start of the 2009/10 academic year up to the end of the academic year 2014/15.
	Each contract is evaluated regularly to ensure that key performance indicators are being met. These evaluations are formally reviewed by senior managers in Ofsted and shared with the Inspection Service Provider.
	A copy of this reply has been sent to Vernon Coaker MP, Minister of State for Schools and Learners and will be placed in the library of both Houses.
	 Letter from Christine Gilbert, dated 10 December 2009:
	Your recent parliamentary question has been passed to me, as Her Majesty's Chief Inspector, for response.
	The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) was established in the Education and Inspections Act 2006 and since 1 April 2007, has had responsibility for the inspection of the following services and organisations:
	education in all maintained schools in England and schools run by Service Children's Education abroad
	education in approximately half of independent schools and boarding in all schools which provide it
	Early Years and childcare provision
	Children's homes, secure children's homes and secure training centres - welfare, and also education where this is also provided
	residential family centres
	adoption and fostering, including local authority and voluntary adoption agencies, independent fostering agencies, local authorities' private fostering arrangements
	learning and training in the post-16 sector including colleges, work-based learning, adult and community learning, and nextstep
	contracted employment provision for the Department of Work and Pensions
	initial teacher education and further education teacher training
	education and training in prisons and other secure establishments
	the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (CAFCASS)
	services for child protection, safeguarding and looked after children in local authorities.
	Ofsted also:
	has responsibility for regulation and registration of childcare and children's social care
	assesses the overall performance of children's services in local authorities
	evaluates serious case reviews
	monitors independent schools inspectorates.
	A copy of this reply has been sent to Vernon Coaker MP, Minister of State for Schools and Learners, and placed in the library of both Houses.

Pre-School Education: Nottingham

Graham Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many children aged  (a) three and  (b) four years in Nottingham North constituency are in free nursery places.

Dawn Primarolo: The available figures are in the table.
	
		
			  Part-time equivalent number of free early education places( 1,2,3)  filled by three and four-year olds. Parliamentary constituency: Nottingham North. Position in January 
			   Number of three -year-olds  Number of four -year-olds 
			 2009 1,300 1,300 
			 (1) A place is equal to 12.5 hours (five sessions) and can be filled by more than one child. (2) Figures are rounded to the nearest 100. (3) Age of all children taken at 31 December 2008.  Source: Early Years Census and School Census 
		
	
	The Department publishes information on the part-time equivalent number of free early education places filled by three and four-year-olds in maintained, private, voluntary and independent providers. This is derived by counting children taking up 12 and a half hours per week as one place, 10 hours per week as 0.8 places, seven and a half hours per week as 0.6 places, five hours per week as 0.4 places and two and a half hours per week as 0.2 places.

Pupil Referral Units

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families which Pupil Referral Units he has visited since his appointment; and on what date each such visit took place.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 8 December 2009
	 The Secretary of State visited Knowsley Skills Academy on 16 September 2009. Knowsley Skills Academy is one of 12 alternative provision pilots, part of the action we are taking forward to implement the White Paper on alternative provision, Back on Track published in May 2008.

Pupils: Assessment

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what qualifications are equivalent to one or more GCSE passes; and if he will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 5 January 2010
	All level 2 qualifications approved under section 96 of the Learning and Skills Act 2000 contribute towards the reported performance of pupils at key stage 4 in obtaining GCSEs and equivalent qualifications.
	An exhaustive list of equivalent qualifications and the size of their contributions to the five A*-C grade GCSE or equivalent threshold can be found at QCDA's National Database of Accredited Qualifications website at:
	http://www.accreditedqualifications.org.uk
	in the performance measures section under the entry for each qualification.

Pupils: Per Capita Costs

Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much funding was provided per pupil in the maintained sector for  (a) primary schools and  (b) secondary schools in (i) England, (ii) the South West Region and (iii) each local authority within the South West Region in each year from 1997 to 2009.

Vernon Coaker: Per pupil revenue funding figures for primary school pupils (ages three to 10) for England, the South West Region, and each local authority in the South West of England between 1997-98 and 2005-06 are shown in table 1. These figures are in real terms and are based on financial years.
	
		
			  Table 1 
			  Real terms revenue funding per pupil  (£)-SSA/EFS plus grants 
			   1997-98  1998-99  1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 England 2,680 2,790 2,980 3,230 3,430 3,520 3,740 3,860 4,100 
			 South West 2,570 2,670 2,840 3,070 3,220 3,290 3,470 3,560 3,790 
			   
			 Bath and North East Somerset 2,400 2,540 2,710 2,940 3,090 3,140 3,330 3,420 3,660 
			 Bournemouth 2,730 2,740 2,890 3,140 3,230 3,270 3,410 3,490 3,700 
			 Bristol, City of 2,580 2,690 2,880 3,130 3,330 3,490 3,690 3,850 4,130 
			 Cornwall 2,490 2,720 2,900 3,140 3,330 3,400 3,580 3,670 3,890 
			 Devon 2,670 2,750 2,870 3,100 3,250 3,310 3,530 3,610 3,820 
			 Dorset 2,610 2,650 2,810 3,030 3,180 3,230 3,370 3,480 3,670 
			 Gloucestershire 2,520 2,630 2,820 3,050 3,210 3,270 3,430 3,500 3,730 
			 North Somerset 2,460 2,600 2,790 3,010 3,140 3,190 3,400 3,490 3,740 
			 Plymouth 2,700 2,780 2,920 3,140 3,270 3,360 3,490 3,580 3,810 
			 Poole 2,620 2,620 2,750 2,950 3,100 3,140 3,260 3,290 3,550 
			 Somerset 2,530 2,640 2,830 3,070 3,230 3,290 3,470 3,570 3,770 
			 South Gloucestershire 2,380 2,520 2,710 2,900 3,040 3,090 3,270 3,360 3,600 
			 Swindon 2,650 2,660 2,780 3,000 3,160 3,200 3,460 3,540 3,800 
			 Torbay 2,720 2,750 2,880 3,120 3,260 3,280 3,450 3,540 3,760 
			 Wiltshire 2,570 2,660 2,830 3,050 3,200 3,260 3,520 3,600 3,820 
			  Notes: 1. Price Base: Real terms at 2008-09 prices, based on GDP deflators as at 9 December 2009. 2. Figures reflect relevant sub-blocks of Standard Spending Assessment/Education Formula Spending (EFS) settlements and exclude the pensions transfer to EFS. 3. Total funding also includes all revenue grants in DFES Departmental Expenditure Limits relevant to pupils aged three to 10 and exclude Education Maintenance Allowances (EMAs) and grants not allocated at LEA level. For those authorities in receipt of advance of grant under the transitional support arrangements for 2004-05, advance grant funding is included in the year of payment (2004-05). There will be a consequential reduction in DFES grant for these LEAs in future years (either 2006-07 and 2007-08 or 2006-07 to 2008-09, depending on the terms on which the advance was given to the LEA). 4. The pupil numbers used to convert £ million figures to £ per pupil are those underlying the SSA/EFS settlement calculations plus PLASC three-year-old maintained pupils and estimated three to four-year-olds funded through state support in maintained and other educational institutions where these are not included in the SSA pupil numbers.  5. Rounding: Figures are rounded to the nearest £10. 6. Status: Some of the grant allocations have not been finalised. If these do change, the effect on the funding figures is expected to be minimal. 7. 1997-98 figures for authorities subject to local government reorganisation in that year have been estimated, pro-rata to their post LGR figures. 
		
	
	Per pupil revenue funding figures for secondary school pupils (ages 11-15) for England, the South West Region, and each local authority in the South West of England between 1997-98 and 2005-06 are shown in table 2. These figures are in real terms and are based on financial years.
	
		
			  Table 2 
			  Real terms revenue funding per pupil (£)-SSA/ EFS plus grants 
			   1997-98  1998-99  1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 England 3,660 3,760 3,900 4,230 4,460 4,560 4,640 4,840 5,040 
			 South West 3,450 3,550 3,670 3,950 4,120 4,210 4,280 4,470 4,660 
			   
			 Bath and North East Somerset 3,250 3,350 3,530 3,790 3,920 3,980 4,120 4,300 4,490 
			 Bournemouth 3,490 3,580 3,680 3,970 4,150 4,230 4,240 4,410 4,610 
			 Bristol, City of 3,660 3,760 3,880 4,300 4,550 4,620 4,880 5,170 5,510 
			 Cornwall 3,560 3,660 3,780 4,050 4,230 4,330 4,280 4,470 4,670 
			 Devon 3,520 3,620 3,730 3,980 4,130 4,210 4,220 4,400 4,600 
			 Dorset 3,370 3,460 3,590 3,870 4,050 4,130 4,150 4,360 4,520 
			 Gloucestershire 3,390 3,480 3,630 3,920 4,070 4,150 4,220 4,380 4,570 
			 North Somerset 3,350 3,480 3,630 3,900 4,040 4,130 4,250 4,440 4,670 
			 Plymouth 3,490 3,590 3,720 4,020 4,180 4,290 4,350 4,560 4,770 
			 Poole 3,320 3,410 3,510 3,740 3,940 4,040 4,160 4,380 4,490 
			 Somerset 3,450 3,540 3,670 3,950 4,120 4,220 4,310 4,520 4,660 
			 South Gloucestershire 3,290 3,380 3,510 3,740 3,880 3,960 4,130 4,340 4,530 
			 Swindon 3,410 3,500 3,620 3,880 4,020 4,130 4,300 4,480 4,720 
			 Torbay 3,540 3,610 3,730 4,020 4,180 4,290 4,340 4,500 4,700 
			 Wiltshire 3,420 3,510 3,650 3,920 4,080 4,150 4,230 4,390 4,580 
			  Notes: 1. Price Base: Real terms at 2008-09 prices, based on GDP deflators as at 9 December 2009. 2. Figures reflect relevant sub-blocks of Standard Spending Assessment/Education Formula Spending (EFS) settlements and exclude the pensions transfer to EFS. 3. Total funding also includes all revenue grants in DFES Departmental Expenditure Limits relevant to pupils aged 11-15 and exclude Education Maintenance Allowances (EMAs) and grants not allocated at LEA level. For those authorities in receipt of advance of grant under the transitional support arrangements for 2004-05, advance grant funding is included in the year of payment (2004-05). There will be a consequential reduction in DFES grant for these LEAs in future years (either 2006-07 and 2007-08 or 2006-07 to 2008-09, depending on the terms on which the advance was given to the LEA).  4. The pupil numbers used to convert £ million figures to £ per pupil are those underlying the SSA/EFS settlement calculations plus PLASC three-year-old maintained pupils and estimated three to four-year-olds funded through state support in maintained and other educational institutions where these are not included in the SSA pupil numbers.  5. Rounding: Figures are rounded to the nearest £10. 6. Status: Some of the grant allocations have not been finalised. If these do change, the effect on the funding figures is expected to be minimal. 7. 1997-98 figures for authorities subject to local government reorganisation in that year have been estimated, pro-rata to their post LGR figures. 
		
	
	The revenue per pupil figures shown in table 3 as follows are taken from the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG). They are not comparable with those for the years 1997-98 to 2005-06 (in tables 1 and 2 above) because the introduction of the DSG in 2006-07 fundamentally changed how local authorities are funded.
	The 1997-98 to 2005-06 figures are based on Education Formula Spending (EFS) which formed the education part of the Local Government Finance Settlement, plus various grants. This was an assessment of what local authorities needed to fund education rather than what they spent. The DSG is based largely on an authority's previous spending. In addition, the DSG has a different coverage to EFS. EFS comprised a schools block and an LEA block (to cover LEA central functions) whereas DSG only covers the school block. LEA block items are still funded through DCLG's Local Government Finance Settlement but education items cannot be separately identified. Consequently, there is a break in the Department's time series as the two sets of data are not comparable.
	To provide a comparison for 2008-09 DSG, the Department have isolated the schools block equivalent funding in 2005-06 (the baseline); as described above this does not represent the totality of 'education' funding in that year.
	Per pupil revenue funding figures for pupils (ages three to 15) for England, the South West Region, and each local authority in the South West of England between 2005-06 and 2008-09 are shown in table 3. As the DSG is a mechanism for distributing funding, a split between primary and secondary schools is not available. These figures are in real terms and are based on financial years.
	
		
			  Table 3 
			  Real terms revenue funding per pupil (£)-DSG plus grants 
			   2005-06 (baseline)  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			 England 4,340 4,470 4,640 4,690 
			 South West 4,040 4,170 4,310 4,480 
			  
			 Bath and North East Somerset 4,120 4,240 4,370 4,430 
			 Bournemouth 4,040 4,150 4,290 4,300 
			 Bristol, City of 4,710 4,890 5,040 5,050 
			 Cornwall 3,970 4,120 4,270 4,340 
			 Devon 3,940 4,070 4,220 4,280 
			 Dorset 4,070 4,160 4,300 4,350 
			 Gloucestershire 3,980 4,110 4,260 4,370 
			 North Somerset 4,030 4,120 4,250 4,310 
			 Plymouth 4,200 4,340 4,500 4,540 
			 Poole 3,990 4,090 4,230 4,250 
			 Somerset 3,990 4,080 4,230 4,350 
			 South Gloucestershire 3,880 3,970 4,110 4,150 
			 Swindon 3,970 4,110 4,250 4,310 
			 Torbay 4,170 4,280 4,440 4,460 
			 Wiltshire 3,910 4,060 4,200 4,250 
			  Notes: 1. This covers funding through the Dedicated Schools Grant, School Standards Grant, School Standards Grant (Personalisation) and Standards Fund as well as funding from the Learning and Skills Council; it excludes grants which are not allocated at LA level. 2. Price Base: Real terms at 2008-09 prices, based on GDP deflators as at 9 December 2009. 3. These figures are for all funded pupils aged three to 15. 4. Figures have been rounded to the nearest £10. 5. Some of the grant allocations have not been finalised. If these do change, the effect on the funding figures is expected to be minimal.

Schools

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many  (a) primary and  (b) secondary schools were closed in each local authority area in 2008-09.

Vernon Coaker: This requested information to answer  (a) primary and  (b) secondary schools has been placed in the House Libraries.
	Please note that there were no middle deemed primary school closures in 2009. Also there are 15 schools which are proposed to close on 31 December 2009 which have not been included in the Library figures but are shown in the following table for reference.
	The schools which were included in preparing this answer were community, foundation, voluntary aided and voluntary controlled schools. This response does not include any special schools as they do not have a phase of education.
	
		
			  Phase of education 
			  Local authority name  Primary  Secondary  Total 
			 Barking and Dagenham - 1 1 
			 Birmingham - 1 1 
			 Harrow 1 - 1 
			 Hounslow 4 - 4 
			 Kent 2 - 2 
			 Knowsley - 2 2 
			 Lancashire - 1 1 
			 Northamptonshire 1 - 1 
			 Somerset 2 - 2 
			 Grand total 10 5 15 
			  Source: EduBase 2

Schools: Gloucestershire

Parmjit Dhanda: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the schools capital project budget is for Gloucestershire in 2009-10.

Vernon Coaker: The schools' capital budget for Gloucester for 2009-10 is set by the local authority in accordance with asset management plans prepared locally. The budget is determined by allocations from the Department and any resources available locally, which can include brought forward reserves.
	Allocations made by the Department to Gloucestershire in the financial year 2009-10 are set out in the following table, including funds advanced from 2010-11 to 2009-10. The local authority has considerable flexibility in deciding how these are used.
	
		
			  Description  £ million 
			 14-19 Diplomas Pathfinder projects 1.3 
			 Basic Need-for school expansion 9.2 
			 Devolved Formula Funding-prioritised at school level 17.2 
			 Expansion of popular schools 0.9 
			 ICT Harnessing Technology 2.7 
			 Voluntary Aided Schools 3.7 
			 Modernisation 6.4 
			 Primary Schools 5.0 
			 14-19 Diplomas, SEN and Disabilities 4.0 
			 Small programmes 2.4 
			 Total 52.8

Schools: Inspections

Linda Riordan: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  how many schools have been placed in an Ofsted category under the new inspection framework;
	(2)  how many schools have received a limiting judgement arising from safeguarding issues under the new Ofsted inspection framework.

Vernon Coaker: These are matters for Ofsted. HM Chief Inspector, Christine Gilbert, has written to my hon. Friend and a copy of her reply has been placed in the House Libraries.
	 Letter from Christine Gilbert, dated 10 December 2009:
	Your recent parliamentary question has been passed to me, as Her Majesty's Chief Inspector, for response.
	The new maintained schools inspection framework was introduced in September 2009. In accordance with our pre-announced publications, information about all inspections taking place during the autumn term 2009/10 will be published on the third Wednesday in March 2010. Given the code of practice for official statistics, I will not, therefore, be able to provide you with a response to this question until that time.
	A copy of this reply has been sent to Vernon Coaker MP, Minister of State for Schools and Learners, and placed in the library of both Houses.

Schools: Northampton

Sally Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much was spent on school improvements in Northampton  (a) between 1979 and 1997 and  (b) between 1997 and 2009.

Vernon Coaker: The Department has maintained central records of school capital allocations to local authorities from the financial year 1996-97. In the financial year 1996-97, Northamptonshire was allocated £7.5 million. In the 13 year period 1997-98 to 2009-10, the local authority has been allocated £612 million.
	Expenditure on school improvements at local authority level may be slightly different, due to (a) other resources available locally and (b) timing differences resulting from procurement.

Schools: Standards

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  which schools inspected in 2009 to date have had their procedures for safeguarding rated as inadequate; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  which schools have been graded as inadequate by Ofsted in relation to the quality of safeguarding since September 2009; and if he will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: These are matters for Ofsted. HM Chief Inspector, Christine Gilbert, has written to the hon. Member and copies of her replies have been placed in the House Libraries.
	 Letter from Christine Gilbert, dated 3 December 2009:
	Your recent parliamentary question has been passed to me, as Her Majesty's Chief Inspector, for response. The latest period for which published figures are available is the academic year 2008/09. This answer, therefore, takes into account all inspections carried out between 1 January 2009 and 31 August 2009. Information about inspections taking place during the autumn term 2009/10 will be published in March 2010.
	Between 1 January 2009 and 31 August 2009, 31 schools did not meet the safeguarding standard set out in the school inspection framework.
	From September 2005 to September 2009, the school inspection framework included the judgement 'Do procedures for safeguarding learners meet current government requirements?' and used a Yes or No grading. Table A provides a list of the 25 maintained schools inspected between 1 January and 31 August 2009 where their latest Ofsted inspection resulted in a judgement that the safeguarding procedures did not meet the current government requirements.
	In September 2009, a new school inspection framework was introduced. The new framework includes a judgement about the effectiveness of safeguarding procedures on the four point scale: outstanding, good, satisfactory and inadequate. Ofsted carried out pilot inspections against this new framework during the academic year 2008/09. Table B provides a list of those maintained schools inspected under the new framework between 1 January and 31 August 2009 where their latest Ofsted inspection resulted in a judgement of inadequate for the effectiveness of safeguarding procedures.
	A copy of this reply has been sent to Vernon Coaker MP, Minister of State for Schools and Learners, and placed in the library of both Houses.
	
		
			  Table A: Maintained schools not reaching the required standard for Do procedures for safeguarding learners meet current Government requirements? between 1 January and 31 August 2009 
			  URN  Phase of education  School name  Local authority 
			 101861 Nursery South Acton Children's Centre Ealing 
			 116255 Primary Hatch Warren Junior School Hampshire 
			 100148 Primary Brooklands Primary School Greenwich 
			 102841 Primary Wanstead Church School Redbridge 
			 103069 Primary Oakhill Primary School Waltham Forest 
			 103071 Primary The Beaumont School Waltham Forest 
			 103400 Primary St. Clement's Church of England Primary School Birmingham 
			 104338 Primary Priory Green Primary School Wolverhampton 
			 114469 Primary Stafford Junior School East Sussex 
			 117917 Primary Epworth Primary School North Lincolnshire 
			 118593 Primary Rosherville Church of England (Voluntary Controlled) Primary School Kent 
			 120612 Primary The Spalding Parish Church of England Day School Lincolnshire 
			 122304 Primary St. Andrew's Roman Catholic Voluntary Aided First School Northumberland 
			 122683 Primary Tollerton Primary School Nottinghamshire 
			 125023 Primary Banstead Community Junior School Surrey 
			 126434 Primary Bemerton St. John Church of England Aided Primary School Wiltshire 
			 131955 Primary Hertsmere Jewish Primary School Hertfordshire 
			 134666 Primary Chase View Community Primary School Staffordshire 
			 100196 Secondary St. Thomas More Roman Catholic Comprehensive School Greenwich 
			 101558 Secondary Copland-A Specialist Science Community College Brent 
		
	
	
		
			  Table A: Maintained schools not reaching the required standard for 'Do procedures for safeguarding learners meet current Government requirements?' between 1 January and 31 August 2009 
			  URN  Phase of education  School name  Local authority 
			 114599 Secondary Portslade Community College Brighton and Hove 
			 122854 Secondary Chilwell School Nottinghamshire 
			 123939 Special The Priory School Somerset 
			 133588 Pupil Referral Unit Fenland Junction PRU Cambridgeshire 
			 135533 Pupil Referral Unit Short Course Centre Leicester 
		
	
	
		
			  Table B: Maintained schools judged inadequate for 'The effectiveness of safeguarding procedures' between 1 January and 31 August 2009 
			  URN  Phase of education  School name  Local authority 
			 111394 Primary Farnworth Church of England Controlled Primary School Halton 
			 113139 Primary Southmead School Devon 
			 122569 Primary Eastwood Junior School Nottinghamshire 
			 101559 Secondary Kingsbury High School Brent 
			 121212 Secondary Marshland High School Norfolk 
			 103025 Special Sherwood Park School Sutton 
		
	
	 Letter from Christine Gilbert, dated 3 December 2009:
	Your recent parliamentary question has been passed to me, as Her Majesty's Chief Inspector, for response.
	In accordance with our pre-announced publications, information about all inspections taking place during the autumn term 2009/10 will be published on the third Wednesday in March 2010. Given the code of practice for official statistics, I will not, therefore, be able to provide you with a response to this question until that time.
	A copy of this reply has been sent to Vernon Coaker MP, Minister of State for Schools and Learners, and placed in the library of both Houses.

Schools: Yorkshire and the Humber

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many schools in  (a) Leeds West constituency and  (b) West Yorkshire are below the National Challenge benchmark following the 2009 GCSE results.

Vernon Coaker: Individual school results for the 2008/09 academic year are not available until the publication of the Achievement and Attainment Tables in January 2010.

Sure Start Programme

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families when he expects his Department to meet its target of 3,500 Sure Start children's centres.

Diana Johnson: We are on track to achieve our target of 3,500 children's centres by March 2010 for children under five and their families. Local authorities are responsible for rolling out children's centre programmes in their areas.

Teachers: Manpower

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many  (a) physics,  (b) chemistry,  (c) mathematics,  (d) English,  (e) biology and  (f) history teachers who entered the profession in a state school in 2005 were still teaching in state schools in the last year for which figures are available.

Vernon Coaker: The data are not available in the format requested.
	
		
			  Full and part-time( 1)  teachers in local authority maintained sector service( 2)  who qualified in 2004, entered service in 2005 and were still in service in 2008, by subject of initial teacher training qualification ,  Coverage: England 
			  Subject  Remained in service 2008( 3 ) (percentage) 
			 Physics 76 
			 Chemistry 74 
			 Mathematics 77 
			 English 80 
			 Biology 76 
			 History 81 
			 (1) Teachers in part-time service are under-recorded on the DTR by between 10 and 20 per cent. and therefore these figures may be slightly underestimated. (2) The local authority maintained sector includes teachers in maintained nursery, primary, secondary, special schools and pupil referral units and excludes CTCs and academies. (3) Figures are provisional estimates and are subject to change.  Note: Those in service in 2007-08 will not all have been in continuous service between 2005 and 2008; some may have left and returned during the period.  Source: Database of Teacher Records (DTR) and General Teaching Council for England.

Teachers: Qualifications

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many  (a) primary and  (b) secondary school teachers have (i) applied for and (ii) obtained the National Professional Qualification for Headship in each of the last 10 years.

Vernon Coaker: The National College for Leadership of Schools and Children's Services, who have run the National Professional Qualification for Headship since 2001, provided the following data:
	
		
			   Primary (including nursery)  Secondary  Other (inc. special, LA, independent, overseas)  Grand total 
			   APPS  GRADS  APPS  GRADS  APPS  GRADS  APPS  GRADS 
			 2001 n/k 201 n/k 163 n/k 23 n/k 387 
			 2002 2,426 1,726 1,549 920 201 141 4,176 2,787 
			 2003 3,082 1,943 1,899 1,209 210 127 5,191 3,279 
			 2004 3,121 2,294 2,031 1,368 164 177 5,316 3,839 
			 2005 2,682 2,450 2,022 1,582 551 205 5,255 4,237 
			 2006 2,487 2,492 1,702 1,662 473 255 4,662 4,409 
			 2007 2,836 2,574 1,847 1,841 309 308 4,992 4,723 
			 2008 1,178 2,356 337 1,428 300 223 1,815 4,007 
			 2009 534 455 134 160 225 88 893 703 
			 Total 18,346 16,491 11,521 10,333 2,433 1,547 32,300 28,371 
			  Notes: 1. Data are unavailable for the period 1997-2000. 2. 2001 application figures not recorded. 3. 2009 figures only cover partial recruitment for this year as this is not yet completed. 4. NPQH takes 12 months to complete, so those starting in 2008 graduate in 2009

Young Offenders

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many reparation orders relating to those aged  (a) 10 or 11,  (b) 12 to 14 and  (c) 15 to 17 years old have been (i) given and (ii) breached in each year since 1997.

Dawn Primarolo: The information is as follows:
	(i) The following tables show the number of reparation orders that have been given to young people by courts.
	The presented data are broken down by financial years and by the following age groups:  (a) 10 and 11,  (b) 12 to 14 and  (c) 15 to 17-years-old.
	(ii) The Youth Justice Board does not hold the data on number of breaches in relation to reparation orders.
	Complete data prior to financial year 2000/01 is not held by the YJB. Reparation orders were only introduced in pilot areas from 1998 and nationally from 2000.
	
		
			   Reparation Orders 
			   10-11  12-14  5-17  Total 
			 2000-01 169 1,954 4,166 6,289 
			 2001-02 230 2,875 5,524 8,629 
			 2002-03 60 1,075 3,083 4,218 
			 2003-04 39 938 2,791 3,768 
			 2004-05 43 1,038 2,554 3,635 
			 2005-06 36 1,201 2,802 4,039 
			 2006-07 36 1,234 3,360 4,630 
			 2007-08 42 1,275 3,691 5,008 
			 Total 655 11,590 27,971 40,216 
		
	
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing and may be subject to change over time.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Biofuels

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change for what reasons he decided that grandfathering rights on the basis of those applied to offshore wind projects should not apply to regular biomass projects.

David Kidney: 'Government Response to the Statutory Consultation on the Renewables Obligation Order 2009', published in December 2008, we set out our decision not to grandfather existing biomass and waste plants following evidence from the biomass industry:
	that grandfathering existing stations at 1 ROC/MWh while banding up new stations would be detrimental to a competitive market for the fuel stock ... [as] existing plants could not have reasonably anticipated the introduction of banding, and made any contingency for this. We ... therefore decided to allow existing plants to be banded up and receive the same level of support as new plants. ... As the principle of banding has now been established we believe that there is less reason to treat biomass stations as a special case.
	However, we are currently carrying out work with the Renewables Advisory Board, the Renewable Energy Association and biomass stakeholders to assess whether moves in biomass fuel prices might warrant such action at the next banding review starting October 2010.

Biofuels

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps his Department is taking to monitor the level of use of each source of biomass fuel.

Joan Ruddock: The Government publish statistics on the annual use of biomass fuel in the Digest of UK Energy Statistics. Chapter 7 provides a breakdown by source. Further information relating to fuel use by power plants registered for the renewables obligation is kept by Ofgem on their searchable Renewable and CHP Register at:
	https://www.renewablesandchp.ofgem.gov.uk/Public/ReportManager.aspx?ReportVisibility=1ReportCategory=0
	In addition, the UK renewables obligation (RO) scheme introduced, on 1 April 2009, a reporting requirement to monitor the sustainability of biomass, including information such as country of origin of the fuel.

Buildings: Carbon Emissions

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the level of carbon emissions was from  (a) housing and  (b) other buildings in respect of (i) heating and cooling, (ii) hot water, (iii) lighting , (iv) appliances and (v) other sources in the latest year for which figures are available.

Joan Ruddock: For the UK household sector, total end-use emissions of carbon were just over 146.5 million tonnes of CO2 (MtCO2) in 2006, for which a breakdown of emissions per service is shown in Fig.1. Overall household sector carbon emissions in 2007 were just over 140.5 MtCO2,but the breakdown by service is not yet available for that year.
	
		
			  Fig.1: Household carbon emissions by service in 2006 
			  Service  MtCO 2 
			 Space heating 66.7 
			 Water heating 31.9 
			 Cooking 5.1 
			 Lights appliances and cooling(1) 41.8 
			 (1) Of which lights contributed 8.4 MtCO2; appliances 33.4 MtCO2; and cooling 0.1 MtCO2 (indicative estimates). 
		
	
	For non-domestic buildings, the most recent estimates available are for 2008. Fig.2 shows the breakdown of emissions per service. These figures, totalling 88.9 MtCO2, include all energy use in public and commercial buildings and energy use for space heating and lighting in industrial buildings.
	
		
			  Fig.2: Non-domestic carbon emissions by service in 2008 
			  Service  MtCO 2 
			 Space heating and cooling 42.7 
			 Hot water 4.7 
			 Lighting 22.7 
			 Appliances 11.5 
			 Other 7.3

Carbon Emissions: Developing Countries

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change with reference to his Department's press release of 26 June 2009, Make or break time for our climate, what research was used in the development of the policy to establish a $100 billion fund to assist developing countries reduce their carbon dioxide emissions by 2020.

Joan Ruddock: holding answer 15 December 2009
	We have drawn on analysis in various independent reports to calculate the scale of finance needed to tackle climate change in developing countries. The most recent, by Project Catalyst (a philanthropically funded project to develop analysis for the UNFCCC), put the total at €65-100 billion per year on average from 2010 to 2020 (€55-80 billion mitigation; €10-20 billion adaptation). The figure that the Prime Minister announced in a speech on 26 June 2009 of around $100 billion by 2020 is within this range. However, we also recognised that we must distinguish between research studies and the actual finance that countries might need for their low carbon and climate resilient growth and development. Therefore, we have proposed $100 billion a year by 2020 as a working figure for the world to focus on.

Carbon Emissions: Smoking

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate has been made of the effects of cigarette smoking on levels of carbon dioxide emissions.

Joan Ruddock: The Government have not made a detailed assessment of the effects of cigarette smoking on carbon dioxide emissions. As a plant product, the burning of tobacco is likely to result in zero net carbon dioxide emissions, although there will be other greenhouse gas emissions associated with the production and distribution of cigarettes.

Climatic Research Unit

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what information the University of East Anglia Climate Research Unit has provided to his Department since its inception.

Joan Ruddock: DECC has no research or data-delivery contracts with the University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit (CRU).
	The Met Office, however, uses CRU's land temperature dataset, which is merged with sea surface temperatures to derive the global average temperature record. This is used in quarterly updates to DECC of global, regional and UK temperatures. A gridded version of this dataset is freely available from the Met Office Hadley Centre observations website.

Departmental Art Works

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much his Department spent on art works in the last 12 months.

Joan Ruddock: The Department has spent £5,000 on art works since its inception on 3 October 2008.

Departmental Buildings

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much his Department spent on works and refurbishment to offices allocated to Ministers in his Department's buildings in the last 12 months.

Joan Ruddock: DECC spent £667,526 refurbishing the 5(th) Floor of 3 Whitehall Place, which includes the ministerial offices. DECC is unable without incurring disproportionate cost to specifically identify the element related to offices allocated to Ministers.

Departmental Official Hospitality

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much his Department spent on  (a) alcohol and  (b) entertainment in the last 12 months.

Joan Ruddock: Accordingly to the Department's financial records the total amount spent on entertainment in the financial year 2008-09 was £184,000. It is not possible to separate out the cost for alcohol.

Departmental Pay

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much was claimed in reimbursable expenses by press officers in his Department in each of the last three financial years.

Joan Ruddock: The Department of Energy and Climate Change was formed on 3 October 2008.
	Claims submitted by press officers for reimbursable expenses in the period October 2008 to March 2009 totalled £242.

Departmental Publicity

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much his Department has spent on  (a) Ministerial photoshoots and  (b) production of videos in which Ministers appear since its inception.

Joan Ruddock: The Department has spent  (a) £2,695 on photoshoots and  (b) £34,720 on production of videos for Ministers since its inception on 3 October 2008.

Departmental Scientists

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many  (a) scientific advisers and  (b) civil servants in scientific posts there are in his Department.

Joan Ruddock: The Department has a Chief Scientific Adviser, Professor David Mackay. In addition, there are three independent committees that advise the Department on scientific and other matters. These are: the Committee on Radioactive Waste Management (15 members); the Advisory Committee on Carbon Abatement Technologies (15 members); the Committee on Climate Change (eight members). The Department also receives advice from a number of other bodies. These include: Energy Technology Institute; Carbon Trust; and UK Energy Research Centre.
	Currently there are 66 science and engineering posts in the Department.

Departmental Telephone Services

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many telephone lines with the prefix  (a) 0870,  (b) 0845 and  (c) 0800 his Department (i) operates and (ii) sponsors; how many calls were received to each number in the last 12 months; and whether alternative numbers charged at the BT local rate are available in each case.

Joan Ruddock: The Department does not hold this information centrally and it would take a disproportionate amount of time and cost to gather.

Departmental Training

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many overseas training courses were attended by his Department's civil servants in the latest period for which figures are available; how many civil servants attended each course; and what the total cost to the public purse was of each course.

Joan Ruddock: Information regarding training is not held centrally; therefore to provide a response would entail a disproportionate cost.

Departmental Training

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many  (a) away days and  (b) conferences that took place outside his Department's building attended by civil servants in his Department there have been since 2005; and what the cost was of each.

Joan Ruddock: The information requested is not available centrally and could only be made available at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Written Questions

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many and what percentage of parliamentary questions tabled for written answer by his Department on a named day in session 2008-09 received a substantive answer on that day.

Joan Ruddock: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Glasgow, East (John Mason) on 14 December 2009,  Official Report, column 926W. The percentage of named day questions answered on the day was 29 per cent.

Electricity

John Grogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the effect on independent electricity producers of  (a) the regime for the renewables obligation and  (b) the redemption of renewables obligation certificates sourced from the co-firing of regular biomass set out on the draft Renewables Obligation Order.

Joan Ruddock: There are 4,542 generating stations accredited and provided with support under the RO as of 14 December 2009. Over 90 per cent. of these stations are not vertically integrated with electricity suppliers.
	Some industry stakeholders have raised concerns that the cap on the co-firing ROC market restricts competition and disproportionately penalises independent co-firers who, they felt, were forced to participate in a partitioned marketplace, meaning they had to accept significant discounts in price for their ROCs.
	We commissioned Oxera to look into these concerns. Their report suggested that in the long run the cap is unlikely to significantly affect the ROC market for co-firing. There were some short-term concerns but following consultation we considered these were outweighed by the potential detrimental effect on the ROC value for all renewables technologies. The Oxera Report suggests that not having a co-firing cap could lead to a decrease in ROC values which could impact investment and delay deployment of new biomass stations.
	Their report and the Government response can be found at:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/consultations/elec_financial/elec_financial.aspx

Energy Efficiency Schemes

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change 
	(1)  what plans he has for the future of his Department's energy efficiency and lowest rate tariff schemes;
	(2)  what his most recent assessment is of the relationship between the performance of energy supply companies in meeting their obligations under his Department's energy efficiency and lowest rate tariff schemes and their market share;
	(3)  what estimate he has made of the  (a) number and  (b) percentage of households which have received assistance from each energy supply company under his Department's energy efficiency and lowest rate tariff schemes; and what the cost to his Department of each such scheme has been to date.

Joan Ruddock: DECC set out the future of its energy efficiency schemes in the Low Carbon Transition Plan published July 2009, this included extending the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT) (an obligation on energy suppliers to meet household carbon saving targets) to the end of 2012 before moving to a new framework post 2012. A consultation on the CERT extension will be published before Christmas and further details on delivery arrangements post 2012 will be published early in the new year.
	The CERT is a GB-wide carbon saving obligation on energy suppliers so it is delivered at no cost to DECC. Ofgem reported in July 2009 that suppliers had made good progress towards their targets having achieved the following percentage savings against their individual obligations (the overall target is 185 million tonnes of lifetime CO2 savings) by the end of the first year of CERT:
	
		
			   Percentage 
			 British Gas 54 
			 EDF Energy 56 
			 Npower 30 
			 E.ON 55 
			 Scottish and Southern Energy 49 
			 Scottish Power 56 
		
	
	Reporting is by measure and not by household. Together, suppliers delivered a significant number of energy efficiency measures by the end of the first year of CERT including around 850,000 cavity wall insulation jobs, almost 1.5 million loft insulation jobs, 40,000 solid wall insulation jobs and some 200 million compact fluorescent lights.
	The Community Energy Saving Programme (CESP) only commenced in September 2009, no households have yet received assistance. CESP runs to December 2012 and it is estimated that 90,000 households will benefit.
	In the 2008 Budget the Chancellor announced an increase in suppliers' collective expenditure on their voluntary social programmes to at least £100 million in 2008-09, £125 million in 2009-10 rising to £150 million by 2011. Energy supplier's social tariffs are delivered at no cost to the Government.
	Ofgem monitors the suppliers' social programmes on behalf of Government. In its latest report on suppliers' social programmes, published in August 2009, Ofgem confirmed that suppliers have each met the first year spend target as set by Government and that suppliers' collective expenditure totalled £157 million, which exceeded the Government set target for the first year of the agreement by 57 per cent. £130 million of this collective total expenditure was attributable to social tariffs. This report also detailed the number of customer accounts benefiting from a social tariff and the total savings to customers of these tariffs, per supplier, as at 31 March 2009. A copy of this report can be found online at:
	http://www.ofgem.gov.uk/Sustainability/SocAction/Suppliers/CSR/Documents1/Monitoring_suppliers_social_spend_2008_09_final.pdf
	The initial findings report of Ofgem's energy supply probe gave a snapshot of the total number of customer accounts per supplier, as at June 2008. A copy of the energy market probe initial findings report can be found online at:
	http://www.ofgem.gov.uk/Markets/RetMkts/ensuppro/Documents1/Energy%20Supply%20Probe%20-%20Initial%20Findings%20Report.pdf
	According to these reports the total savings to customers during 2008-09, customer accounts on a social tariff as at 31 March 2009 and total electricity and gas customers per supplier as at June 2008 is reported as:
	
		
			  Supplier  Energy type  Total savings to customers (£ million)  Total customer accounts on a social tariff as at 31 March 2009  Total customer accounts as at June 2008  Percentage of customer accounts on a social tariff( 1) 
			 British Gas Electricity - 193,148 6,038,464 - 
			  Gas - 323,131 9,762,950 - 
			  Total 77.4 516,279 15,801,414 (2)3.3 
			   
			 EDF Energy Electricity - 99,073 3,605,090 - 
			  Gas - 45,939 1,602,369 - 
			  Total 8.8 145,012 5,207,459 2.8 
			   
			 E.ON Electricity - 25,447 4,922,100 - 
			  Gas - 23,608 2,913,408 - 
			  Dual Fuel - 2,826 - - 
			  Total 15.65 51,881 7,835,508 0.7 
			   
			 Npower Electricity - 65,251 4,047,020 - 
			  Gas - 48,585 2,553,340 - 
			  Total 12.28 113,836 6,600,360 1.7 
			   
			 Scottish Power Electricity - 45,519 3,217,808 - 
			  Gas - 29,003 1,919,852 - 
			  Total 1.5 74,522 5,137,660 1.5 
			   
			 SSE Electricity - 64,661 5,255,087 - 
			  Gas - - 3,255,123 - 
			  Dual Fuel - 38,279 - - 
			  Total 14.87 102,940 8,510,210 1.2 
			   
			 Total Electricity - 493,099 27,085,569 - 
			  Gas - 470,266 22,007,042 - 
			  Dual Fuel - 41,105 - - 
			  Total 130 1,004,470 49,014,084 2 
			 (1) As data for social tariffs and total customer accounts are not as at the same period of time these percentages should be treated as approximate. (2) As Ofgem report on electricity, gas and dual fuel customer accounts on a social tariff in their social programmes report and on electricity and gas customer accounts in their the energy supply probe, initial findings report, we have only provided the percentage of total customer accounts per supplier on social tariff. 
		
	
	The Low Carbon Transition Plan also included an announcement that we will introduce social price support when the voluntary agreement ends in March 2011. We have since introduced clauses on social price support as part of the Energy Bill. We also announced in the pre-Budget report that we would require energy suppliers to make £300 million available per year by 2013-14 for social price support. This is double what they have agreed to provide in the final year of the voluntary agreement.

Energy: Housing

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change with reference to the answer of 19 October 2009,  Official Report, column 1297W, on council tax: energy, if he will place in the Library a copy of each representation that the Energy Saving Trust has made to his Department on  (a) council tax and energy efficiency and  (b) controls on the sale or rent of homes which have a poor energy efficiency rating.

Joan Ruddock: A copy of each representation that the Energy Saving Trust has made to DECC concerning questions A and B will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Feed-in Tariffs

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the likely effect of his Department's proposed feed-in-tariffs scheme on the development of the UK's renewable industry sector.

David Kidney: Effects of the Feed-in Tariffs (FITs) scheme have been identified in the impact assessment published on July 15 2009:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/consultations/elec_financial/elec_financial.aspx
	This includes an assessment of the expected level of uptake under the lead FITs scenario (approximately 8TWh electricity in 2020 and approximately 870,000 installations by 2020).
	The introduction of FITs should significantly increase the scale and scope of the GB market for small-scale renewable energy technologies and ancillary products compared to the status quo. UK manufacturing firms and product installers will benefit directly from this increase in demand. An increase in the uptake of certain technologies, such as small wind, where the UK has a manufacturing base, will create a particularly positive impact on job creation. Installations will also require maintenance and servicing which may have a positive impact on jobs. Overall, FITs are expected to boost business and employment opportunities in developing and deploying renewable energy technologies. These impacts have not been quantified.

Feed-in Tariffs

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the likely effect of his Department's proposed feed-in-tariffs scheme on  (a) energy sector competition and  (b) supplier diversity by (i) 2020 and (ii) 2030.

David Kidney: The impact on small electricity suppliers has been taken into account during policy development in order that they are not disproportionately impacted. Furthermore, the introduction of feed-in-tariffs should significantly increase the scale and scope of the GB market for small-scale renewable energy technologies and ancillary products. UK manufacturing firms will benefit directly from this increase in demand, and market growth should increase competition effects, encouraging innovation, driving down prices and enhancing the global competitiveness of UK firms.
	No assessment has been made of the effect of feed-in-tariffs on supplier diversity.

Feed-in Tariffs

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when the interim metering arrangements will be in place for installations claiming feed-in-tariffs prior to the roll-out of smart meters.

David Kidney: We will be publishing decisions relating to the design of the FITs scheme in early 2010. This will include metering arrangements from the start of the scheme.

Feed-in Tariffs

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what consultative meetings he has had with  (a) representatives of the renewables industry and  (b) energy supply companies to discuss his Department's proposed feed-in-tariffs scheme.

David Kidney: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State regularly meets with representatives of the renewable industry and the energy supply companies to discuss the Department's business.

Feed-in Tariffs

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the likely TWh levels of power from sub-5MW renewables supported by his Department's proposed Feed-in-Tariffs scheme produced in 2020 under the  (a) 10 per cent. return on investment (ROI) scenario,  (b) eight per cent. ROI scenario and  (c) lead scenario.

David Kidney: The feed-in-tariffs impact assessment included analysis on an 8 per cent. ROI scenario and a proposed lead scenario. Estimated TWh in 2020 were 10TWh and 8TWh respectively. A 10 per cent. ROI scenario was not modelled as part of the impact assessment. However, information on a 10 per cent. ROI scenario can be found in the element energy quantitative report (page 67) that accompanied the consultation document:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/consultations/elec_financial/elec_financial.aspxx

Feed-in Tariffs

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate his Department has made of electricity prices in 2020, excluding the cost of his Department's proposed feed-in-tariffs scheme.

David Kidney: Analysis for the low carbon transition plan estimates that the electricity price in 2020, excluding the proposed feed-in-tariffs scheme, to be around £161/MWh for the domestic sector (including VAT) and £127/MWh for medium industrial consumers.

Feed-in Tariffs

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what levels of  (a) commercial sector and  (b) energy service companies sector investment his Department estimates will be made under its proposed feed-in-tariffs scheme.

David Kidney: Under the feed-in tariffs proposal that was consulted on in the summer, the number of installations deployed by the commercial sector is estimated to be approximately 55,000 by 2020 (as set out in the impact assessment:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/consultations/elec_financial/elec_financial.aspx.
	No estimates have been made for investment by energy service companies.

Feed-in Tariffs

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what 2020 standard electricity price assumption Element Energy were asked to use for his Department's proposed feed-in-tariffs scheme modelling; and what the rationale was for this price assumption.

David Kidney: Electricity price assumptions used for the feed-in-tariffs (FITs) analysis are set out in the renewable energy strategy (RES) analytical annex which can be found at:
	http://decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/what_we_do/uk_supply/energy_mix/renewable/res/res.aspx
	Consistent electricity price assumptions were used to model all policies covered by the RES, including FITs.
	The following figures are taken from the various electricity price tables in the RES analytical annex:
	
		
			  Electricity 2020 p/kWh (2008 levels)  Domestic retail price  Commercial/  service price  Industrial price  Variable element (social cost) domestic  Variable element (social cost) commercial  Variable element (social cost) industrial 
			 Low energy demand 12.8 10.1 8.6 4.8 4.6 4.5 
			 Timely investment, moderate demand 16.4 13.4 11.9 8.1 7.9 7.8 
			 High demand, producers' market power 18.4 15.4 13.9 10.1 9.9 9.7 
			 High demand, significant supply constraints 20.6 17.4 15.9 11.5 11.3 11.1

Feed-in Tariffs

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether his Department has used a range of standard electricity price scenarios in the Element Energy model for his Department's proposed feed-in-tariffs scheme; and what range of price assumptions has been used to 2020.

David Kidney: Electricity price assumptions used for the feed-in tariffs (FITs) analysis are set out in the Renewable Energy Strategy (RES) analytical annex which can be found at:
	http://decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/what_we_do/uk_supply/energy_mix/renewable/res/res.aspx.
	The analytical annex contains electricity price forecasts under the headings 'Low energy demand', 'Timely investment, moderate demand', 'High demand, producers' market power', and 'High demand, significant supply constraints'.
	A number of electricity price scenarios were assessed and presented in the FITs impact assessment at:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/consultations/elec_financial/elec_financial.aspx.

Feed-in Tariffs

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the likely differential cost to domestic consumers under his Department's proposed feed-in tariffs scheme in  (a) 2015 and  (b) 2020 under a 10 per cent. return on investment scenario, if the modelling includes future electricity price scenarios consistent with the trajectory of electricity price increases over the last 10 years.

David Kidney: No estimate has been made of the impact of feed-in tariffs on domestic electricity bills under a 10 per cent. ROI scenario.

Feed-in Tariffs

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what his estimate is of the likely differential cost to domestic consumers under his Department's proposed feed-in tariffs scheme in  (a) 2015 and  (b) 2020 under a 10 per cent. return on investment scenario if the modelling includes future electricity price scenarios consistent with Ofgem's price projections, including the 60 per cent. increase by 2020 scenario.

David Kidney: No estimate has been made of the impact of feed-in tariffs on domestic electricity bills under a 10 per cent. ROI scenario.

Feed-in Tariffs

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the financial effects upon participants in the Carbon Reduction Commitment of participation in his Department's proposed feed-in tariffs scheme.

Joan Ruddock: There are no financial implications (in terms of additional rewards or penalties) for participants in the Carbon Reduction Commitment who invest under DECC's proposed feed-in tariffs scheme. All electricity consumed by organisations captured by the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme will generally be treated as grid average, and organisations shall report emissions accordingly, except in cases where an organisation generates renewable electricity and does not claim subsidies through renewables obligations certificates or feed-in tariffs. In this special case there are effectively no emissions associated with the use of this electricity under the CRC scheme.

Feed-in Tariffs

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment has been made of the effect of the Carbon Reduction Commitment (Energy Efficiency Scheme) on the large public and commercial sector take-up of renewables under his Department's proposed feed-in tariffs scheme.

Joan Ruddock: The CRC was always intended as an energy efficiency scheme and therefore incentivises energy efficiency and is neutral on the generation of energy. The CRC should be neutral in effect on the take up of renewable generation. CRC does not provide additional incentives beyond the renewables obligation on suppliers or the new feed-in tariff (FIT) scheme but is intended to sit alongside those policies and be complementary to them. The CRC is therefore neutral with respect to the uptake of the FIT scheme. The intended combination of these policies is to deliver both improved energy efficiency and a decarbonised electricity supply.

Feed-in Tariffs

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the inflation treatment will be of payments under his Department's proposed feed-in tariffs in relation to  (a) the production tariff paid for all energy generated and  (b) the export bonus where a minimum floor price of 5p kWh is proposed for power exported to the grid.

David Kidney: Final decisions about inflation treatment have not been taken. Decisions will be published in the Government's response to the feed-in tariffs consultation.

Feed-in Tariffs

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the tax treatment of income under his Department's proposed feed-in tariffs scheme is for the  (a) domestic sector,  (b) commercial sector and  (c) public sector.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: have been asked to reply.
	As the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced at the 2009 pre-Budget report, households who use renewable technology to generate electricity mainly for their own use will not be subject to income tax on feed-in tariffs. Normal tax rules will apply in all other instances including for the commercial and public sector.

Fuel Poverty

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what definition his Department uses of the term fuel poverty; what changes to this definition there have been since 1997; whether he plans to change the current definition; and if he will make a statement.

David Kidney: The Warm Homes and Energy Conservation Act 2000 defines a fuel poor person as one living on a lower income in a home which cannot be kept warm at reasonable cost.
	The most widely accepted definition of a fuel poor household is one which needs to spend more than 10 per cent. of its net income to heat its home to an adequate standard of warmth (usually 21 degrees for the main living area, and 18 degrees for other occupied rooms).
	There are no plans to review the definition of fuel poverty.

Fuel Poverty

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many families were in fuel poverty in each region in each of the last two years.

David Kidney: Fuel poverty is measured at household level rather than on a family basis.
	The Department's latest estimates for fuel poverty are for 2007, available online at:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/statistics/fuelpov_stats/fuelpov_stats.aspx
	The following table provides the number of households in fuel poverty for each English region in 2006 and 2007:
	
		
			  Number of households in fuel poverty 
			  Thousand 
			  Government office region  2006  2007 
			 North East 179 206 
			 East Midlands 236 272 
			 East of England 224 253 
			 London 254 309 
			 North West 415 472 
			 South East 291 333 
			 South West 256 259 
			 West Midlands 304 383 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 273 333 
			 Total 2,432 2,819

Fuel Poverty: Preston

Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps his Department is taking to reduce the level of fuel poverty in Preston.

David Kidney: The Department of Energy and Climate Change is responsible for national programmes aimed at reducing fuel poverty. The combination of Warm Front, the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT), Community Energy Savings Programme (CESP), Decent Homes and local programmes delivered through local government, partnerships, energy suppliers, eaga and NEA (such as Warm Zones and the Community Energy Efficiency Fund (CEEF)) are all important in tackling fuel poverty across regions of England.
	The Warm Front scheme is the Government's main scheme for tackling fuel poverty and up to 30 November 2009 has delivered energy efficiency measures to 8,414 households in Preston since the year 2000. Additionally, over 438 benefit entitlement checks have been undertaken, identifying an average increase in income of £23.63 for those entitled to additional benefits.
	The Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT) requires energy suppliers to meet at least 40 per cent. of their obligation by promoting and installing measures in the homes of a priority group of vulnerable consumers in receipt of qualifying benefits or people aged over 70 years. Measures are only reported at GB level and details at constituency level are not available. However, the Government are developing a voluntary agreement with suppliers for them to report CERT main measures into the Homes Energy Efficiency Database (HEED) maintained by the Energy Saving Trust; the Government hope to conclude negotiations shortly.

Housing: Insulation

Andy Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many companies have been investigated and removed from Government schemes for cavity wall insulation grants in the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Joan Ruddock: The Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT) is the Government's principal instrument for encouraging households to install insulation. However, CERT is not a Government managed scheme, but rather a carbon saving obligation placed by Government on energy supply companies with more than 50,000 customers. Suppliers meet their targets by promoting (typically through subsidised offers) and installing a mix of approved energy efficiency measures, including insulation measures. Energy suppliers each have their own contracts with insulation companies which are treated as commercial in confidence. A small amount of insulation activity is directly funded through the Government's flagship fuel poverty programme-Warm Front. However, no contractors have been removed in the last five years.

Low Carbon Transition Plan

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what discussions he has had with the devolved Administrations to ensure co-ordination in implementation of the UK Low Carbon Transition Plan.

Joan Ruddock: Ministers and officials engage with the devolved Administrations on energy and climate change matters, particularly where there are implications for devolved policy or to ensure coordination and alignment of reserved matters with devolved policy. We also have a statutory obligation to consult the devolved Administrations on aspects relating to the Climate Change Act 2008, including on setting the levels of the carbon budgets and targets under the Act, and preparing policies for meeting them.
	Since publication of the Low Carbon Transition Plan, this has included discussions between officials on renewable energy, heat and energy savings, the extension to the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT), Smart Meters and the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) Energy Efficiency Scheme.

National Grid

Desmond Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change with which companies his Department has discussed the development of a smart grid in the last six months.

David Kidney: The Department has met with many companies to discuss smart grids over the last six months. This has included all distribution network operators, all transmission operators, ICT companies, a selection of electricity supply companies, equipment suppliers and relevant trade associations.

National Grid

Desmond Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change which stakeholder groups his Department has  (a) created and  (b) consulted on the development of a smart grid in the last six months.

David Kidney: The Department has set up and co-chaired with Ofgem a working group of the Electricity Networks Strategy Group to help develop a vision for a smart grid. This vision has informed Government thinking on smart grids.

National Grid

Desmond Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when he last met  (a) Ofcom and  (b) Ofgem to discuss the establishment of a smart grid; and if he will make a statement.

David Kidney: I have not met Ofcom or Ofgem to specifically discuss the establishment of a smart grid.

National Grid

Desmond Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what meetings with each stakeholder group he has had on the allocation of the bandwidth spectrum in respect of the development of a smart grid.

David Kidney: I have not had any meetings with any stakeholder group on the allocation of the bandwidth spectrum in respect of the development of a smart grid.

Renewable Energy

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether he has undertaken any research into the effect of the transmission charging regime on cross-border trade.

David Kidney: The Department has not undertaken any research that looks specifically at the effect of the GB use of system transmission charging methodology on cross border trade.

Renewables Obligation: Biofuels

Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change 
	(1)  what his policy is on the future allocation of renewable obligation certificates per unit of electricity produced by biofuels;
	(2)  whether he plans to review the allocation of renewable obligation certificates per unit of electricity produced by biofuels.

David Kidney: The banding levels (number of renewables obligation certificates (ROCs) per megawatt hour) for all technologies will be reviewed periodically at specified dates. The first scheduled review is due to come into effect on 1 April 2013, with work beginning in October 2010. In the case of biofuels, this will also take account of the strategic assessment which the Government will be undertaking next year on priorities for the use of biomass.

Tidal Power: River Severn

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what discussions his Department has had with relevant authorities in The Netherlands about the construction and subsequent impacts of the storm surge barrier on the Eastern Scheldt in The Netherlands; and what steps have been taken to apply lessons learnt there to the development of tidal power proposals for the Severn Estuary.

David Kidney: The Eastern Scheldt storm surge barrier is one of a number of analogues reviewed as part of the Hydraulics and Geomorphology assessment within the Strategic Environmental Assessment of tidal power from the Severn Estuary. In 2008, at the invitation of the Severn tidal power feasibility study team, Dutch officials gave a presentation on the construction and subsequent impacts of the storm surge barrier.
	In addition representatives from Deltares (an independent research institute for water, soil and subsurface issues based in The Netherlands) have attended a number of workshops on Hydraulics and Geomorphology as part of the Strategic Environmental Assessment. They presented and led discussions on the geomorphological implications arising from the construction of the storm surge barrier. This evidence feeds into the Severn Tidal Power Feasibility Study.

Warm Homes and Energy Conservation Act 2000

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent discussions he has had with  (a) HM Treasury and  (b) other Ministerial colleagues on the operation of the Warm Homes and Energy Conservation Act 2000; and if he will make a statement.

David Kidney: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has regular meetings with my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer and other colleagues on a wide range of topics.